Concepts of Mental Demands at Work That Protect Against Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective: Workplace-related mental demands (WPMDs) are considered to be protective factors for cognitive health in old age and are linked to delayed onset of dementia. Yet, what exactly is meant by WPMDs differs greatly between studies, putting an enormous challenge on researchers and practitioners. Aim of our study was thus to create a systematic overview on WPMD concepts and to depict their associations with dementia and cognitive decline. Thereby, we want to create a solid basis for further work and implementation. Data Source: PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science. Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: We included observational studies with populations older than 18 that addressed the association between WPMDs and dementia/cognitive functioning and that were published as journal articles. We excluded studies with emotional and physical demands, stress, and organizational frameworks such as exposure variables and quality of life, depressive symptoms, burnout, and Parkinson as outcome. Furthermore, we excluded study populations younger than 18 and students. Data Extraction: Standardized search string. Data Synthesis: Based on theoretical concepts. Results: Thirty-four studies that employed concepts of WPMDs in 5 different categories: complexity with people/data/things, cognitive demands, job control, novelty, and mental workload. Discussion: Challenges associated with categorizing WPMDs as well as theoretical and measurement-related implications are discussed. Conclusion: This review helps to better understand how workplaces can contribute to later life cognitive fitness, and it offers a conceptual overview for practitioners that want to create more protective working environments or improve existing ones.

Functional Differences Found in the Elderly Living in the Community

“…When analyzing occupational factors, the participants who had high cognitive demands during their work lives performed IADL worse. Other studies indicate that workplace-related mental demands are considered protective factors of cognitive and functional health [29]. This can be explained by not exercising EEFF at the occupational level [16], and also by the fact that the mental occupation in our participants was low.…”

“…Besides, being married and having a high level of education has been considered a protective factor [17,21,28]. Thus, one of the factors that more strongly impacted ADL was being separated or divorced marital status, and living with other people [29]. Lázaro Alquézar et al [17], found that 9.6% of the subjects presented severe/absolute dependence, and this percentage rose to 15.5% and 18.7% for people over the age of 75 and 80 years, respectively, while mild/moderate dependence was related to being a woman having a lower level of education.…”

“…However, the following are considered to be protective factors: high physical activity levels, being married [21,28], and mentally demanding occupations during one's working life [29].…”

Intensified Job Demands and Cognitive Stress Symptoms: The Moderator Role of Individual Characteristics

“…This is somewhat surprising, because IJDs have been characterized as predominantly cognitive in nature (Chesley, 2014;Kubicek et al, 2015;Mauno et al, 2020), and because the media workers in this study reported generally rather high overall experience of IJDs. On the other hand, it is known that a certain amount of cognitive job demands may even enhance cognitive functioning and thus buffer the age-related decline in these functions (e.g., Fisher et al, 2014;Hussenoeder et al, 2019). The same could apply also in one's current work, especially if an individual appraises job demands as positive (i.e., as challenges) rather than negative (i.e., as hindrances) aspects of one's work (e.g., Podsakoff et al, 2007;Paškvan et al, 2016;Meyer and Hünefeld, 2018).…”

Development of a protective mental work demands questionnaire

“…At the moment, research on PMWDs is at an early stage, scattered, there is uncertainty about what are the important concepts, and standardized assessment is missing (Hussenoeder et al, 2019). To better understand, analyze, and research PMWDs and their association with cognitive functioning and to develop meaningful workplace interventions, it is important to adequately conceptualize, operationalize, and measure them.…”