Yang Le, Wang Jing, Guo Dan, Zhang Xin, Wang Ling
School of Management, Shanxi Medical University, 56 Xinjian South Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China.
BMC Geriatr. 2025 Sep 26;25(1):729. doi: 10.1186/s12877-025-06375-w.
This study investigated the association between generalized/particularized trust and cognitive function, with a focus on sex differences, among Chinese older adults relocated for poverty alleviation.
In 2023, a total of 1882 relocated older adults (≥ 60) were surveyed by using a multi-stage stratified sampling method in Shanxi province, China, under a cross-sectional study design. Trust was assessed in generalized trust (i.e. generalized trust in society and in community) and particularized trust (i.e. particularized trust in family, friends, neighbours, and authoritative identity). Older adults' cognitive function was measured by the Chinese version of Mini-Mental State Examination (CMMSE). Hierarchical linear regression was performed to determine the association between trust and cognitive function.
Particularized trust in friends and particularized trust in authoritative identity were positively associated with cognitive function in the full sample. After controlling all confounders (i.e. demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, health behaviors and health status, and relocation characteristics), older adults who trusted in friends (β = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.23;1.94, P < 0.05) and who trusted in community/village staff (β = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.26;1.69, P < 0.01) reported better cognitive function. Generalized trust in society was negatively associated with cognitive function, older men who trusted most people showed lower cognitive function (β=-0.14, 95%CI: -2.67;-0.82, P < 0.001), and the comparison of the regression coefficients between the male and female were significantly different using suest test (P < 0.01). Particularized trust in friends and authoritative identity was positively associated with the cognitive function of relocated older men. However, the association between trust and cognitive function was not found among relocated older women.
Trust is associated with the cognitive function of older adults relocated for poverty alleviation in China, future policy interventions must highlight relocated older adults who have low trust in friends and community/village staff, more attention needs to be paid to the tailored interventions of trust promotion to different sexes.
本研究调查了中国易地扶贫搬迁老年人中广义/狭义信任与认知功能之间的关联，重点关注性别差异。
2023年，在中国山西省采用多阶段分层抽样方法，对1882名年龄在60岁及以上的易地扶贫搬迁老年人进行了横断面研究。信任通过广义信任（即对社会和社区的广义信任）和狭义信任（即对家人、朋友、邻居和权威身份的狭义信任）进行评估。老年人的认知功能通过中文版简易精神状态检查表（CMMSE）进行测量。采用分层线性回归来确定信任与认知功能之间的关联。
在全样本中，对朋友的狭义信任和对权威身份的狭义信任与认知功能呈正相关。在控制所有混杂因素（即人口统计学和社会经济特征、健康行为和健康状况以及搬迁特征）后，信任朋友的老年人（β = 0.08，95%CI：0.23；1.94，P < 0.05）和信任社区/村干部的老年人（β = 0.08，95%CI：0.26；1.69，P < 0.01）认知功能更好。对社会的广义信任与认知功能呈负相关，对大多数人都信任的老年男性认知功能较低（β = -0.14，95%CI：-2.67；-0.82，P < 0.001），使用似不相关估计法检验，男性和女性回归系数的比较有显著差异（P < 0.01）。对朋友和权威身份的狭义信任与易地扶贫搬迁老年男性的认知功能呈正相关。然而，在易地扶贫搬迁老年女性中未发现信任与认知功能之间的关联。
信任与中国易地扶贫搬迁老年人的认知功能有关，未来的政策干预必须突出那些对朋友和社区/村干部信任度低的易地扶贫搬迁老年人，需要更加关注针对不同性别的信任促进的针对性干预措施。
