Association between social support and cognitive function

Abstract Background Observational studies suggest social support is associated with vulnerability for cognitive decline in older adults. Because of racial/ethnic homogeneity in prior studies beings predominantly in White/European ancestry, less is known about the generalization of these putative psychosocial mechanisms. Thus, we evaluated whether better telecommunication social support systems were associated with better cognitive performance using a unique longitudinal cohort of rural South African older adults. Method We conducted a cross‐sectional study using 541 participants from the HAALSI (Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa) Dementia Cohort. Participants’ exposure to social support via telecommunication was measured using a standard assessment. Cognitive performance was measured using a neuropsychological battery validated in this population that assesses the domains consistent with the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers Uniform Data Set. Raw scores were converted into z scores and a composite global cognitive score was created as an additional indicator of global cognition. We examined cross‐sectional associations with multivariate robust regression analysis using robust S‐estimation. Telecommunication social support was modeled as the independent variable; cognitive measures were modeled as dependent variables. Result Higher telecommunication social support was associated with better global cognitive function after adjustment for age, gender, and education (β:0.01, 95% CI: 0.006, 0.022). This association persisted after additional adjustments for depressive symptoms and vascular risk factors. Higher telecommunication social support was also associated with cognitive function assessed by mini mental status examination and tests of executive function and memory. Conclusion Telecommunication‐based social support was associated with higher levels of cognitive performance in a rural South African cohort of Black older adults. Although these findings and the potential of reverse causality need to be further validated, our results suggest that intervention studies might be specifically merited to understand whether promoting social support through telecommunication in similar samples of older adult populations lessen vulnerability for cognitive decline.