Journal
ALZHEIMERS & DEMENTIA
Volume 18, Issue 5, Pages 934-941Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/alz.12443
Keywords
cognitive aging; connectedness; health disparities; social determinants; social engagement; social networks; social support
Categories
Funding
- National Institute onAging [R01AG057739, P30AG010133]
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Research suggests that social connectedness can help older adults with dementia maintain cognitive functionality and quality of life. This paper proposes two pathways through social bridging and bonding to achieve this goal. Social connectedness may have downstream implications for multiple pathophysiological processes in cognitive aging, making it a strong candidate for clinical or policy intervention.
Research suggests social connectedness may help older adults with dementia maintain cognitive functionality and quality of life. However, little is known about its specific social and biological mechanisms. This paper proposes two pathways through social bridging (i.e., cognitive enrichment through expansive social networks) and bonding (i.e., neuroendocrine benefits of integration in cohesive social networks). We provide preliminary evidence for these pathways using neuroimaging, cognitive, and egocentric social network data from the Social Networks and Alzheimer's Disease (SNAD) study (N = 280). We found that network size, density, and presence of weak ties (i.e., social bridging) moderated the association between brain atrophy and cognitive function, while marriage/cohabitation (i.e., social bonding) moderated the association between perceived stress and cognitive function. We argue that social connectedness may have downstream implications for multiple pathophysiological processes in cognitive aging, even negating existing structural damage to the brain, making it a strong candidate for clinical or policy intervention.
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