Can volunteering in later life reduce the risk of dementia? A 5-year longitudinal study among volunteering and non-volunteering retired seniors

Abstract

We propose that voluntary work, characterized by social, physical and cognitive activity in later life is associated with fewer cognitive problems and lower dementia rates. We test these assumptions using 3-wave, self-reported, and registry data from the 2010, 2012, and 2014 Swedish National Prescribed Drug Register. We had three groups of seniors in our data: 1) no volunteering (N = 531), 2) discontinuous volunteering (N = 220), and 3) continuous volunteering (N = 250). We conducted a path analysis in Mplus to investigate the effect of voluntary work (discontinuously and continuously) on self-reported cognitive complaints and the likelihood of being prescribed an anti-dementia treatment after controlling for baseline and relevant background variables. Our results indicated that seniors, who continuously volunteered, reported a decrease in their cognitive complaints over time, whereas no such associations were found for the other groups. In addition, they were 2.44 (95%CI [1.86; 3.21]) and 2.46 (95%CI [1,89; 3.24]) times less likely to be prescribed an anti-dementia treatment in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Our results largely support the assumptions that voluntary work in later life is associated with lower self-reported cognitive complaints and a lower risk for dementia, relative to those who do not engage, or only engage episodically in voluntary work.

Cohort Profile: The Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH)

“…Other papers have investigated the ageing workforce and retirement where, for example, voluntary work in later life has been associated with lower self-reported cognitive complaints and a lower risk of dementia. 23 …”

Effects of Participation in Social Activities on Cognitive Function Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Korea

“…The findings from our study are consistent with previous studies suggesting that engaging in social activities in later life is more likely to prevent the decline of cognitive function at some level, and eventually reduce the risk of mental health problems and its related mortality [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. Although the positive effects of greater participation in social activities on cognitive impairment in later life have mostly been observed, there are mixed findings on how different social activities impact cognitive function [ 8 , 17 , 34 , 36 ]. For instance, a previous study found that active volunteer work has a protective effect on cognitive function [ 36 ], whereas other studies suggested that active engagement in religious or social group activities contributes to preventing cognitive decline in both middle-aged and older adult populations [ 8 , 37 , 38 ].…”

“…Although the positive effects of greater participation in social activities on cognitive impairment in later life have mostly been observed, there are mixed findings on how different social activities impact cognitive function [ 8 , 17 , 34 , 36 ]. For instance, a previous study found that active volunteer work has a protective effect on cognitive function [ 36 ], whereas other studies suggested that active engagement in religious or social group activities contributes to preventing cognitive decline in both middle-aged and older adult populations [ 8 , 37 , 38 ]. In addition, a cross-sectional study examining the relationship between participation in social activities and MMSE decline among Korean middle-aged and older adult populations found that only religious and family-oriented activities were likely to delay cognitive function among individuals over 65, suggesting a community-based policy approach as one of the strategies to prevent and manage the increasing prevalence of dementia [ 37 ].…”

Making DEEP Sense of Lifestyle Risk and Resilience

“… Systematic review Jenkinson et al, 2013 (+) Our results largely support the assumptions that voluntary work in later life is associated with lower self-reported cognitive complaints and a lower risk for dementia, relative to those who do not engage, or only engage episodically in voluntary work. Population-based cohort study (registry study), n = 1001) Griep et al, 2017 + Volunteering at the initial assessment and volunteering regularly over time independently decreased the risk of cognitive impairment over 14 years, and these findings were maintained independent of known risk factors for cognitive impairment. Panel survey, n = 13,262 Infurna et al, 2016 Socio-economic status + Significant interactions were found between a healthful lifestyle (defined as having more than or equal to three healthful lifestyle factors) and income on changes of global cognition and verbal fluency […].…”