Our society is aging, and one of the most challenging public health issues is determining how to prevent cognitive decline in the older population.

Past research has shown social activities — and the accompanying emotional and intellectual stimulation — to be a promising mechanism for staving off cognitive decline.

New research, published last month in BMC Geriatrics, dives into the specific types of social activities that are associated with reduced cognitive decline.

Participation in Senior Clubs or Senior Centers

Elderly adults who participated in senior citizen-oriented clubs, or frequented senior centers, were at lower risk of cognitive decline, according to the research.

From the study:

We found that older adults who participated more frequently in senior citizen clubs or senior centers at baseline had lower risk of CD [cognitive decline] 4 years later than those who did not. This association was independent of the influence of age, sex, education, income, marital status, ADL, IADL, chronic diseases, depressive symptoms, elevated depressive symptoms, quality of life, and cognitive functioning at baseline.

A possible explanation for this is that senior center participants are more involved in cognitively and emotionally stimulating activities than non-participants. In many countries, the senior citizen center is an organization that provides various services, including physical/mental health, social and educational services, and recreational activities for older people [26, 41]. Studies has indicated that intellectually challenging activities and active interpersonal exchanges can increase or maintain cognitive reserve, allowing individuals to cope longer before cognitive impairment is manifested [42], and produce beneficial effects on cognition even in old age [13].

Biological mechanisms related to the vascular hypothesis could also partially explain our findings. Reportedly, an active social activity might enhance cardiopulmonary fitness and cerebral oxygenation, which could protect against neuropathology in older people [47]. Other research on senior center participation and health has shown that senior center participants had higher levels of social interaction and better mental health than non-participants [48].

This conclusion assumes that senior centers are offering intellectually stimulating activities. From the study:

In South Korea, older people participating in senior citizen clubs can spend their leisure time with other people playing hwatu (Korean card game) or chess, singing songs, or dancing [49]. The senior centers provide diverse group activities for the elderly including painting, calligraphy, origami, gardening, playing musical instruments, acting, and exercise programs [41, 49]. Our result suggests that participation in senior citizen clubs may protect against CD in elderly people.

Talking with Their Children by Phone/Letter

Elderly adults who frequently kept in contact with their children — either by phone or letter — also showed reduced risk of cognitive decline.

From the authors:

Frequent contact with children by phone or letters was associated with reduced risk of CD 4 years later in O-O adults. Talking with their adult children on the phone is likely to provide older adults emotional support and intimacy. This finding showing the beneficial effect of contact with children by phone or letters on CD is in agreement with previous study results reporting that frequent contact with children by phone or letters was significantly protective against depression among older people.

Studies have indicated that perceived emotional support protects against CD and operates as an antidote to stress, thus delaying neurodegenerative processes, whereas loneliness or isolation can worsen CD in older adults. Other studies have also shown that talking on the phone with children can provide older people with emotional support and be an important social activity in late life, confirming the concept that intimacy is needed for psychological well-being.

Face-to-Face Contact with Their Children Yielded Mixed Results

Perhaps the study’s most interesting finding was that face-to-face interaction with their children yielded mixed results for older adults.

For the sample’s oldest adults (74 years or older; classified as “O-O adults”), face-to-face contact was linked to increased risk of cognitive decline.

This may have to do with the Korean culture (the country where the sample in the study was located), where many seniors still provide care-giving for their adult children.

The study explains:

Excessive giving may result in exhaustion of resources of giver. On the contrary, excessive receiving can be distressing to the recipient because it may results in loss of independence. Both situations might be harmful for mental and physical health among older adults. In Korea, participation of women in the labor market has grown speedily as a result of industrialization. High female employment rate has resulted in increased need of assistance for household affairs such as taking care of young children in the family. In Asian cultures where family interdependence is culturally valued, when adult children request, most of older adults meet their adult children and provide instrumental support.

The burdens of helping their adult children might generate chronic unremitting stress, which may result in neuronal degeneration and have a negative impact on cognitive function in older adults. Several existing studies in Asian countries have reported that the care-giving burdens for their adult children might lead to stress and depressive symptoms among older adults.

And, as the study notes, the findings may have been different if the research had been conducted in a different country:

Another study reported that co-residence with children or close interaction with children was positively associated with emotional well-being and self-rated health in the Japanese elderly [60]. A study in Europe also showed that few contacts with children were associated with an increased number of depressive symptoms in older people [61]. Because impacts of contacts with children on older adults’ mental health are inconsistent in the studies, more research is needed to identify plausible relationships between them.

Read the full study here.