Xiong Mengyun, Wen Zhaojing, Ma Wanrui, Hu Xue, Tong Yan, Wang Zhizhong
Department of General Practice, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital at Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, 523808, China.
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, #1 Xincheng Road, Songshanhu, Dongguan, 523808, China.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Jan 24;25(1):300. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21570-5.
The association between social capital and trajectories of cognitive function (CF) is still unclear among older adults in mainland China. The present study aims to examine the association using a longitudinal cohort from the Ningxia Healthy Aging Cohort.
Four waves of longitudinal data were abstracted to identify the CF trajectories using the conditional latent class growth model (LCGM). CF was measured using the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) from 2012 to 2023. Social capital, including social cohesion, social interaction, civic participation, and spiritual capital, was assessed using a series of standard instruments at baseline. Multinomial logistic regression was used to test the association between social capital and each trajectory class.
Three distinct CF trajectories were identified: Stable (72.5%), slow decline (25.8%), and deterioration (1.7%). High spiritual capital was associated with a decreased risk of developing a deterioration trajectory (OR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.14-0.93), while high civic participation (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.46-0.81) was associated with a decreased risk of developing a slow decline trajectory. Low CF at baseline was the first important risk factor, followed by age, civic participation, sex, monthly income, spiritual capital, and obesity.
The CF trajectories are heterogeneous among older Chinese adults. Civic participation was associated with a lower risk of a slow decline trajectory, and spiritual capital was slightly associated with a lower risk of a deterioration trajectory. These findings support the development of social-integrated interventions for vulnerable groups.
在中国内地老年人中，社会资本与认知功能轨迹之间的关联仍不明确。本研究旨在利用宁夏健康老龄化队列的纵向队列来检验这种关联。
提取四波纵向数据，使用条件潜在类别增长模型（LCGM）来确定认知功能轨迹。2012年至2023年期间，使用中文版简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）测量认知功能。在基线时，使用一系列标准工具评估社会资本，包括社会凝聚力、社会互动、公民参与和精神资本。使用多项逻辑回归来检验社会资本与每个轨迹类别的关联。
确定了三种不同的认知功能轨迹：稳定型（72.5%）、缓慢衰退型（25.8%）和恶化型（1.7%）。高精神资本与恶化轨迹发展风险降低相关（比值比[OR]=0.36，95%置信区间[CI]=0.14-0.93），而高公民参与度（OR=0.61，95%CI=0.46-0.81）与缓慢衰退轨迹发展风险降低相关。基线时低认知功能是首要重要风险因素，其次是年龄、公民参与度、性别、月收入、精神资本和肥胖。
中国老年人群体的认知功能轨迹具有异质性。公民参与与缓慢衰退轨迹的较低风险相关，精神资本与恶化轨迹的较低风险有轻微关联。这些发现支持为弱势群体制定社会综合干预措施。
