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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1426723
This article is part of the Research Topic International Perspectives on Older Adult Social Isolation and Loneliness View all 30 articles

Exploring the Association between Multidimensional Social Isolation and Heterogeneous Cognitive Trajectories among Older Adults: Evidence from China

Provisionally accepted
Xinlong XIE Xinlong XIE 1,2Yanxia Lyu Yanxia Lyu 1,2,3Fanfan Wu Fanfan Wu 1,2Anpeng Zong Anpeng Zong 1,2Zhiruo Zhuang Zhiruo Zhuang 1,2AiJun Xu AiJun Xu 1,2,3*
  • 1 Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
  • 2 School of Health Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 3 Jiangsu Research Center for Major Health Risk Management and TCM Control Policy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Liaoning Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: This study aims to elucidate the heterogeneous cognitive trajectories among older adults in China through a comprehensive, nationally representative longitudinal study. Furthermore, it seeks to investigate the impact of multidimensional social isolation on heterogeneous cognitive trajectories among older adults in China.Methods: Utilizing data from three successive waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS) spanning 2016 to 2020, this investigation quantified baseline social isolation across three dimensions-family isolation, friend isolation, and subjective isolation-alongside cognitive function scores of older adults, measured across all three waves. Through latent class growth models, heterogeneous cognitive trajectories were delineated. The influence of family isolation, friend isolation, and subjective isolation on these cognitive trajectories was examined employing multinomial logistic regression analysis.The study included 6,378 participants aged 60 and above, revealing three primary cognitive trajectories: High baseline stable group (68.8%), High baseline but declining group (21.7%), and Low baseline deteriorating group (9.5%). Adjusting for variables such as personal physical characteristics, social networks, living and working conditions, and the surrounding policy environment, the findings indicated that family isolation did not significantly affect cognitive function's high-level decline or low-level deterioration. Conversely, friend isolation markedly increased the risk of high-level cognitive decline (OR=1.289) and low-level cognitive deterioration (OR=1.592). Similarly, subjective isolation significantly heightened the risk for both high-level decline (OR=1.254) and low-level deterioration (OR=1.29) in cognitive function.Mitigating friend and subjective isolation among older adults appears to be a more effective strategy in preventing or delaying cognitive decline, potentially reducing the strain on healthcare and social welfare systems.

    Keywords: family isolation, friend isolation, subjective isolation, heterogeneous cognitive trajectories, latent class growth models, Chinese older adults

    Received: 02 May 2024; Accepted: 20 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 XIE, Lyu, Wu, Zong, Zhuang and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: AiJun Xu, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.