Work

Marital Status and Living Situation During a 5-Year Period Are Associated With a Subsequent 10-Year Cognitive Decline in Older Men: The FINE Study

Year: 2006

Type: article

Abstract: We investigate the association between marital status and living situation (over 5 years) on 10-year subsequent cognitive decline. The study population consisted of 1,042 men aged 70-89 years in 1990, who participated in the longitudinal Finland, Italy, the Netherlands Elderly (known as FINE) Study. We measured cognition by using the Mini-Mental State Examination, and we assessed marital status (married vs unmarried) and living situation (living with others vs living alone) with a standardized questionnaire. We performed repeated measurement analyses and made adjustments for age, education, country, smoking, alcohol, chronic diseases, marital status or living situation, and baseline cognition. Men who lost a partner, who were unmarried, who started to live alone, or who lived alone during the 5-year period had at least a two times stronger subsequent cognitive decline compared with men who were married or who lived with someone in those years.

Source: The Journals of Gerontology Series B

DOI: 10.1093/geronb/61.4.p213

Authors: B. M. van Gelder, M. Tijhuis, S. Kalmijn, S. Giampaoli, A. Nissinen, D. Kromhout

Institutions: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, University Medical Center Utrecht, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Wageningen University & Research

Language: English

Topic: Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research

Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: European Commission