ABSTRACT
Objective:
To explore the relationship between
marital status and
mild cognitive impairment in older
adults.
Methods:
This study is a cluster random sampling.From January to December 2020, a
questionnaire survey was conducted among older
adults aged 60 years and over in four cities of Hebei Province.Finally, 2690 older
adults with
mild cognitive impairment and normal
cognitive function were enrolled.The older
adults were divided into 2 groups according to their
marital status married and living with their
spouses(group E1),
divorced or
living alone(group E2). The mini-mental
state examination(MMSE)scores of older
adults in the two groups were compared.Moreover, the cognitive differences of older
adults between the two groups and the interaction of
marital status, social activities and
life events on cognitive outcomes were analyzed.
Results:
The married older
adults with partners had better cognitive preservation( P<0.01). The more
life events were more likely to cause
cognitive impairment( P<0.01), and the interaction of
marital status, social activities and
life events had a significant impact on
cognition( P<0.01). Older
men who were married and lived with
spouse had better
cognition than older
women who were married and lived with
spouse( P<0.05 in Model 3). The
cognition of
widowed elderly women was better than those of
widowed elderly men( P<0.1 in Model 1; P<0.1 in Model 2). Among
elderly men, the
cognition of those married and living with
spouse was better than that those of
widowed( P<0.01 in models 1 and 2, P<0.1 in model 3). Among
elderly women, those married and living with
spouse had better cognitive outcomes than those
widowed( P<0.01 in Model 1, P<0.01 in Model 2).
Conclusions:
Marital companionship is a
protective factor for the
cognition of older
adults, and there are
gender differences in the impact of
marital status on
cognition in late
life.