Conceptual Advancement: Social Health as a Facilitator in the Use of Cognitive Reserve

Abstract

Dementia is a syndrome where the origins are not fully understood, and we have no cure. New thinking through exploration of paradigms beyond biological approaches has scope to improve knowledge about this complex condition. We aim to explore the role of social health in cognitive decline and the onset of dementia. We performed a scoping and a systematic review of the literature, hypothesizing that social health acts as a driver for stimulating the use of cognitive reserve. The review yielded theoretical pathways and evidence for the association between neurobiological and social health markers. However, lack of conceptual clarity on social health hinders its articulation and associated inclusion of social health markers in epidemiological studies. We therefore apply concept advancement of social health. We developed a conceptual framework, and we present a first testing of our overarching hypothesis. This framework proved to effectively guide the identification of social health markers in our epidemiological data bases. This promotes the identification of modifiable risk factors, which may in turn shape new avenues for preventive interventions.

Social health and change in cognitive capability among older adults: findings from four European longitudinal studies

“…We distinguish between structural and functional social health markers based primarily on work from Vernooij-Dassen and colleagues [8], complemented by the social networks model by Berkman, and social health domains identified by Huber [19,20]. Structural characteristics represent the structure of the social network itself in determining opportunities by which the social network can influence health (e.g., marital status, social network size, and contact frequency).…”

“…Numerous factors across the life course can affect cognitive capability and its decline [4][5][6][7]. Social health, a concept covering a range of individual and environmental social markers such as social participation and appraisal of social environment, are among these life course factors [8].…”

Social health and subsequent cognitive functioning in people aged 50 years and above: examining the mediating roles of depressive symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers

“…Social health, an umbrella term encompassing aspects of social relationships from the individual level to wider socio-cultural factors, 1 is increasingly recognised as a crucial component of health across the life course, especially in older people. Multiple aspects of social health, such as marital status, social isolation and loneliness, have been linked with diverse health-related outcomes, including mental health, 2 cardiovascular disease, 3 and mortality.…”