Centre for Health Management and Policy Research, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
NHC Key Lab of Health Economics and Policy Research, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 2;19(23):16123. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192316123.
This study evaluated the association between cognition and social capital among Chinese older adults and analyzed the mediating role of functional health in that interaction. The baseline and follow-up data were acquired from the 2011 and 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The sample included 6291 adults aged 55 years and above in 2011. The dimensions of social capital included social trust, social support, social participation, and reciprocity. Cognition was measured based on mental state and episodic memory. The Karlson-Holm-Breen method was employed to explore the association between social capital at the baseline and cognition four years later, and the mediating role of baseline functional health. There was a positive relationship between financial support (one of the social support variables) and reciprocity, and mental state (β = 0.186, = 0.00; β = 0.306, = 0.012). Furthermore, a positive relationship between social participation and episodic memory (β = 0.129, = 0.002) was observed. The mediating effect of functional health explained 7.7% of the total effect of social participation on episodic memory. These findings may contribute to research concerning the potential explanation of the association between social capital and cognition as well as interventions aimed at improving cognitive performance in older adults.
本研究评估了中国老年人认知与社会资本之间的关系，并分析了功能健康在这种相互作用中的中介作用。基线和随访数据来自 2011 年和 2015 年的中国健康与退休纵向研究（CHARLS）。样本包括 2011 年年龄在 55 岁及以上的 6291 名成年人。社会资本的维度包括社会信任、社会支持、社会参与和互惠。认知是根据心理状态和情景记忆来衡量的。卡尔森-霍尔姆-布林方法用于探索基线社会资本与四年后认知之间的关系，以及基线功能健康的中介作用。财务支持（社会支持变量之一）与互惠和心理状态呈正相关（β=0.186，=0.00；β=0.306，=0.012）。此外，社会参与与情景记忆呈正相关（β=0.129，=0.002）。功能健康的中介效应解释了社会参与对情景记忆总效应的 7.7%。这些发现可能有助于研究社会资本与认知之间的关联的潜在解释，以及旨在改善老年人认知表现的干预措施。
