Social engagement before and after dementia diagnosis in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Social engagement protects against dementia onset. Less is known about patterns of social engagement around the time of dementia diagnosis. We investigated face-to-face and telephone contact at three times (pre-diagnosis, at report of diagnosis, 2 years post-diagnosis) in individuals who developed dementia and a comparison group.

Methods

Social engagement was assessed at waves 2-7 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing in 4171 individuals aged 50 and older. Dementia was ascertained by either self-reported physician diagnosis or through an informant evaluation of a participant's functional and cognitive performance compared with a few years earlier. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine differences by group, time, and group-by-time interactions

SUBMITTER: Hackett RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6675105 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature