Subjective Age, Lifestyle Behaviours and Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)

Objective: Subjective age has been associated to a number of health related outcomes. The present study aimed to investigate whether subjective age (how younger or old an individual feels) as well as lifestyle behaviours are associated with cognitive functioning in older adults. Method: Data from two waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing were used. Analysis was conducted at wave four (2008/2009), wave seven (2012/2015) and longitudinally, participants were aged 50 years and over. Subjective age, lifestyle behaviours – physical activity, sleep, smoking and alcohol consumption and covariates – chronological age, sex, relationship status and education were assessed to predict levels of immediate recall, delayed recall and verbal fluency at both wave four, seven and over time. Results: Overall, the sample felt younger than their chronological age and the discrepancy between chronological age and subjective age increased as age grew. A younger subjective age was associated with engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviours. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that a younger subjective age was associated with better cognitive function and over time was associated with better immediate and delayed recall. Conclusion: The present study provides further evidence for an association between a younger subjective age and cognitive function in older adults. In particular, the findings from the longitudinal analysis found that even after adjusting for covariates, lifestyle behaviours and cognitive function at baseline the subjective experience of ageing predicted levels of episodic memory.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

National University of Ireland Maynooth

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Buggle, Ciara

Language dc:language

en