Engagement in cognitive activities and risk of loneliness: A longitudinal study among Japanese older adults

IF 4.7 3区医学 Q2 GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY

Archives of gerontology and geriatrics Pub Date : 2026-02-01 Epub Date: 2025-10-25 DOI:10.1016/j.archger.2025.106061

Fumio Sakimoto , Takehiko Doi , Sho Nakakubo , Soichiro Matsuda , Hiroyuki Shimada

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Loneliness is a growing public health concern due to its association with adverse health outcomes in older adults. Research on the relationship between participation in cognitive activities and the alleviation of loneliness remains limited. This study examined longitudinal associations between engagement in cognitive activities and the onset of loneliness among community-dwelling older adults in Japan.

Methods

The prospective cohort initially included 5563 older adults. After excluding participants with baseline loneliness or missing data, 2317 participants (mean age 73.5 ± 5.4 years; 58.1 % women) were analyzed and followed for 36.7 ± 2.3 months. Loneliness was assessed using the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Six cognitive activities were evaluated: reading, keeping a diary, solving crossword puzzles, playing board games, participating in group discussions, and playing musical instruments. Logistic regression, adjusted for demographic, lifestyle, health, and cognitive covariates, examined associations of individual activities and total activity frequency with the onset of loneliness.

Results

During follow-up, 574 participants (24.8 %) developed loneliness. Reading (OR = 0.61, 95 % CI = 0.41–0.91, p = .01) and participating in group discussions (OR = 0.63, 95 % CI = 0.51–0.77, p < .001) were significantly associated with a reduced risk of loneliness. Frequent engagement in other cognitive activities was not associated with lower loneliness.

Conclusions and implications

Engagement in specific cognitive activities was associated with lower odds of loneliness. These findings suggest that it may be important to consider not only the frequency of cognitive activities but also their specific characteristics and qualities.

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参与认知活动与孤独风险：日本老年人的一项纵向研究

孤独感与老年人的不良健康结果相关，已成为一个日益严重的公共卫生问题。参与认知活动与减轻孤独感之间的关系研究仍然有限。本研究调查了日本社区居住的老年人参与认知活动和孤独感之间的纵向联系。前瞻性队列研究最初包括5563名老年人。在排除基线孤独或缺失数据的参与者后，对2317名参与者（平均年龄73.5±5.4岁，58.1%为女性）进行了分析，随访36.7±2.3个月。孤独感采用加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独感量表进行评估。研究人员评估了六项认知活动：阅读、写日记、填字游戏、玩棋盘游戏、参加小组讨论和演奏乐器。经人口统计学、生活方式、健康和认知协变量调整后，Logistic回归检验了个体活动和总活动频率与孤独感发生的关系。结果随访期间，574名参与者（24.8%）出现孤独感。阅读（OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.41-0.91, p = 0.01）和参与小组讨论（OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.51-0.77, p < 0.001）与降低孤独感风险显著相关。频繁参与其他认知活动与孤独感的降低无关。结论和启示参与特定的认知活动与较低的孤独感相关。这些发现表明，不仅要考虑认知活动的频率，还要考虑它们的具体特征和质量，这一点可能很重要。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Archives of gerontology and geriatrics 医学-老年医学

CiteScore

7.30

自引率

5.00%

发文量

198

审稿时长

16 days

期刊介绍： Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics provides a medium for the publication of papers from the fields of experimental gerontology and clinical and social geriatrics. The principal aim of the journal is to facilitate the exchange of information between specialists in these three fields of gerontological research. Experimental papers dealing with the basic mechanisms of aging at molecular, cellular, tissue or organ levels will be published. Clinical papers will be accepted if they provide sufficiently new information or are of fundamental importance for the knowledge of human aging. Purely descriptive clinical papers will be accepted only if the results permit further interpretation. Papers dealing with anti-aging pharmacological preparations in humans are welcome. Papers on the social aspects of geriatrics will be accepted if they are of general interest regarding the epidemiology of aging and the efficiency and working methods of the social organizations for the health care of the elderly.