Publications

19 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 19

Abstract (Expand)

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate how different mentally demanding work conditions during the professional life-i.e., enriched environments at work-might influence the rate of cognitive decline in old age. METHODS: Individuals (n = 1,054) of the Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged, a representative population-based cohort study of individuals aged 75 years and older, underwent cognitive testing via the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in up to 6 measurement waves. Type and level of mentally demanding work conditions in the participants' former professional life were classified based on the O*NET job descriptor database. RESULTS: In multivariate mixed-model analyses (controlling for sociodemographic and health-related factors), a high level of mentally demanding work tasks stimulating verbal intelligence was significantly associated with a better cognitive functioning at baseline (on average 5 MMSE points higher) as well as a lower rate of cognitive decline (on average 2 MMSE points less) over the 8-year follow-up period compared with a low level. The rate of cognitive decline in old age was also significantly lower (on average 3 MMSE points less) in individuals who had a high level of mentally demanding work tasks stimulating executive functions than those who had a low level. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a professional life enriched with work tasks stimulating verbal intelligence and executive functions may help to sustain a good cognitive functioning in old age (75+ years). The findings thus emphasize that today's challenging work conditions may also promote positive health effects.

Authors: F. S. Then, T. Luck, M. Luppa, H. H. Konig, M. C. Angermeyer, S. G. Riedel-Heller

Date Published: 26th May 2015

Publication Type: Not specified

Human Diseases: dementia

Abstract (Expand)

BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether longitudinal stability versus instability in subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a modifying factor of the association between SCD and risk of incident Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. OBJECTIVE: We tested the modifying role of temporal stability of the SCD report on AD dementia risk in cognitively normal elderly individuals. METHODS: We analyzed data of 1,990 cognitively normal participants from the longitudinal AgeCoDe Study. We assessed SCD with/without associated worries both at baseline and first follow-up 18 months later. Participants were then classified either as (a) Controls (CO, with no SCD at both baseline and follow-up 1, n = 613), (b) inconsistent SCD (with SCD reported only at baseline or at follow-up 1, n = 637), (c) consistent SCD but without/or with inconsistent worries (n = 610) or (d) consistent SCD with worries (n = 130). We estimated incident AD dementia risk over up to 6 years for each group with Cox-Proportional Hazard Regression analyses adjusted for age, gender, education, ApoE4 status, and depression. RESULTS: Compared to CO, inconsistent SCD was not associated with increased risk of incident AD dementia. In contrast, risk was doubled in the group of consistent SCD without/ with inconsistent worries, and almost 4-fold in the group of consistent SCD with worries. These results could be replicated when using follow-up 1 to follow-up 2 response patterns for group definition. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that longitudinal stability versus instability is an important modifying factor of the association between SCD and AD dementia risk. Worrisome SCD that is also consistently reported over time is associated with greatly increased risk of AD dementia.

Authors: S. Wolfsgruber, L. Kleineidam, M. Wagner, E. Mosch, H. Bickel, D. Lupsilonhmann, A. Ernst, B. Wiese, S. Steinmann, H. H. Konig, C. Brettschneider, T. Luck, J. Stein, S. Weyerer, J. Werle, M. Pentzek, A. Fuchs, W. Maier, M. Scherer, S. G. Riedel-Heller, F. Jessen

Date Published: 4th Oct 2016

Publication Type: Journal article

Human Diseases: dementia, Alzheimer's disease

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