Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
Volume 170, Issue 4, Pages 428-437Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwp161
Keywords
cognition; health behavior; longitudinal studies; middle aged
Categories
Funding
- European Science Foundation
- Academy of Finland [117604, 124332, 124327]
- British Heart Foundation
- Medical Research Council research professorship
- British Medical Research Council
- the British Heart Foundation
- British Health and Safety Executive
- British Department of Health
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [HL36310]
- National Institute on Aging [AG13196]
- Agency for Health Care Policy and Research [S06516]
- British Heart Foundation [RG/07/008/23674] Funding Source: researchfish
- Medical Research Council [G0100222, G8802774, G19/35] Funding Source: researchfish
- Academy of Finland (AKA) [124327, 124332, 124327, 124332] Funding Source: Academy of Finland (AKA)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The authors examined associations of health behaviors over a 17-year period, separately and in combination, with cognition in late midlife in 5,123 men and women from the Whitehall II study (United Kingdom). Health behaviors were assessed in early midlife (mean age 44 years; phase 1, 1985-1988), in midlife (mean age 56 years; phase 5, 1997-1999), and in late midlife (mean age 61 years; phase 7, 2002-2004). A score of the number of unhealthy behaviors (smoking, alcohol abstinence, low physical activity, and low fruit and vegetable consumption) was defined as ranging from 0 to 4. Poor (defined as scores in the worst sex-specific quintile) executive function and memory in late midlife (phase 7) were analyzed as outcomes. Compared with those with no unhealthy behaviors, those with 3-4 unhealthy behaviors at phase 1 (odds ratio (OR) 1.84, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.27, 2.65), phase 5 (OR 2.38, 95% CI: 1.76, 3.22), and phase 7 (OR 2.76, 95% CI: 2.04, 3.73) were more likely to have poor executive function. A similar association was observed for memory. The odds of poor executive function and memory were the greater the more times the participant reported unhealthy behaviors over the 3 phases. This study suggests that both the number of unhealthy behaviors and their duration are associated with subsequent cognitive function in later life.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available