Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Nov;37(6):685-9.
doi: 10.1093/ageing/afn194. Epub 2008 Oct 13.

Cognitive function and psychological well-being: findings from a population-based cohort

David J Llewellyn  1 , Iain A Lang, Kenneth M Langa, Felicia A Huppert
Affiliations

Cognitive function and psychological well-being: findings from a population-based cohort

David J Llewellyn et al. Age Ageing. 2008 Nov.

Abstract

Background: depression is associated with poor cognitive function, though little is known about the relationship between psychological well-being and cognitive function.

Objective: to investigate whether psychological well-being is associated with levels of cognitive function.

Design: nationally representative population-based cohort study.

Setting and participants: 11,234 non-institutionalised adults aged 50 years and over of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing in 2002.

Methods: psychological well-being was measured using the CASP-19, and cognitive function was assessed using neuropsychological tests of time orientation, immediate and delayed verbal memory, prospective memory, verbal fluency, numerical ability, cognitive speed and attention. The relation of psychological well-being to cognitive function was modelled using linear regression.

Results: on a global cognitive score combining all cognitive tests, those in the fifth quintile of psychological well-being scored an average of 0.30 SD units higher than those in the lowest quintile (95% CI 0.24-0.35) after adjustment for depressive symptoms and sociodemographics. This association remained after additional adjustment for physical health and health behaviours. The same pattern of association was observed for men and women, and across all cognitive domains.

Conclusions: in a large population of community living adults, higher levels of psychological well-being were associated with better cognitive function.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. United Nations Population Division DESA World population prospects: The 2006 revision, 2006.
    1. Mungas D, Harvey D, Reed BR, et al. Longitudinal volumetric MRI change and rate of cognitive decline. Neurology. 2005;65:565–71. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hendrie HC, Albert MS, Butters MA, et al. The NIH cognitive and emotional health project: report of the critical evaluation study committee. Alzheimer Dement. 2006;2:12–32. - PubMed
    1. WHO Constitution of the World Health Organization, Geneva, 1948.
    1. Jorm AF. Is depression a risk factor for dementia or cognitive decline? A review. Gerontology. 2000;46:219–27. - PubMed

Publication types