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Mental Work Demands and Late-Life Cognitive Impairment: Results From the Shanghai Aging Study
Xiaoniu Liang1,2, Zhao Chen3,4, Xinqi Dong5
11 Institute of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Objective:
The aim of this study is to explore the association between mental work demands (MWDs) and late-life cognition among Chinese older adults.
Method:
Data were drawn from the baseline of the Shanghai Aging Study.
Results:
Among 3,546 participants, the mean MWDs index of participants with dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and cognitive normal were 2.8 ( SD = 0.5), 2.8 ( SD = 0.5), and 2.9 ( SD = 0.4), respectively. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores in group with low MWDs level decreased more dramatically by increasing age than that in groups with middle and high MWDs level ( p < .001). In a subgroup of participants with education ≥6 years, we found a positive correlation between MWDs index and MMSE score after adjusting for gender, age, body mass index, income, living alone, smoking, drinking, anxiety, depression, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and APOE-ε4 (apolipoprotein), by generalized linear model analysis ( p < .001).
Discussion:
Our results suggest that long-time mental work stimulation during adulthood would have potential benefits to late-life cognition.
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