School of Remote Sensing and Geomatics Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China.
Jiangsu Province Hydrology and Water Resources Investigation Bureau, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Sci Rep. 2023 Oct 13;13(1):17414. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-44776-2.
The cognitive function status of older adults determines the social function and living quality of older adults, which is related to the healthy development and stability of the society. However, the impact of high or low ambient temperature on cognitive function in older adults remains unclear. Based on data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), we comprehensively assessed the impact of ambient temperature on the cognitive function of older adults in this study. The findings exhibited that for each 1 °C ascent in monthly temperature of high temperature, the examination score of global cognitive function of older adults decreased by 0.48 (95% CI 0.21-0.74), which was greater than that of 0.14 (95% CI 0.06-0.25) for each 1 °C reduction in low temperature. Overall, the detrimental effect of high temperature on cognitive function in older adults was more significant than that of low temperature, including on the five sub-cognitive functions involved. Our research provides vital technical guidance and reference for the health protection and prevention of cognitive function of older adults in specific external environmental conditions under the current climatic variation and temperature rise.
老年人的认知功能状况决定了老年人的社会功能和生活质量，这与社会的健康发展和稳定息息相关。然而，环境温度的高低对老年人认知功能的影响仍不清楚。基于中国长寿纵向研究（CLHLS）的数据，本研究全面评估了环境温度对老年人认知功能的影响。结果表明，与低温每降低 1°C 相比，高温每月温度升高 1°C，老年人整体认知功能检查得分降低 0.48（95%置信区间 0.21-0.74），这表明高温对老年人认知功能的不利影响大于低温的影响（0.14，95%置信区间 0.06-0.25）。总的来说，高温对老年人认知功能的有害影响大于低温，包括对涉及的五个认知子功能的影响。本研究为在当前气候变化和气温上升的特定外部环境条件下，为老年人提供特定环境条件下认知功能的健康保护和预防提供了重要的技术指导和参考。
