Purpose and meaning in life and the trajectory of episodic memory in eight longitudinal samples

Higher purpose and meaning in life are associated with lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Change in memory over time may be an early indicator of oncoming cognitive impairment and, even in the absence of impairment, memory change is associated with reduced quality of life in older adulthood. Purpose has been associated with better episodic memory performance when measured concurrently; less is known about whether purpose is associated with change in memory over time.

To examine the association between purpose and declines in memory over time in multiple cohorts.

The analyses included eight established cohort studies (total N = 117,466) that measured purpose or meaning and had repeated assessments of episodic memory with follow-ups from 5 to 22 years (577,382 total memory assessments). Multilevel models tested whether purpose was associated with the level and slope of episodic memory.

A random-effects meta-analysis indicated that purpose was related to the level (intercept meta-analytic estimate = 0.26, p < 0.001) but not the slope of episodic memory over time (slope meta-analytic estimate = 0.00, p = 0.421). Age and study-level moderators (number memory assessments, follow-up interval and length, memory task, measure content, location, mean sample age) did not account for heterogeneity.

Purpose in life is associated consistently with the average level of episodic memory but not how it changes over time. The association between purpose in life and lower risk of Alzheimer's disease may be due, in part, to the higher average level of episodic memory rather than less systematic decline in memory over time.