Approved Research

Psychosocial risk factors for neurocognitive health in older adults.

Lay summary

Researchers have already shown that health can be affected by a combination of multiple biological, psychological and social factors. For example, older people who are married and who have a larger social network seem to have a lower risk of dementia. In fact, regular social stimulation and help received by one's social network, e.g. family and friends, can be extremely beneficial to maintain good health and quality of life.

Similarly, older people who experience mental health problem appear to have an increased risk of dementia. This could be due to a negative impact of mental health on cognition, but mental health problems can also represent early signs of brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. The social environment can also affect people mental health and, in turn, their cognitive abilities. Different studies have shown that older people who feel lonely and have depression are also more likely to have problems with their mental abilities.

Some groups of people appear to have a greater risk of experiencing cognitive and mental health problems. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Men and women with dementia are also likely to experience different mental health problems. Similarly, some minority groups, e.g. gay, lesbian, bisexual people and other related minorities, have a greater risk of both physical and mental health problems that may affect their cognition.

For these reasons, this project will aim to understand better how several mental health problems and social factors can affect cognitive abilities and different brain parameters (both regarding structural damage and functioning) of older people. Additionally, it will study how these processes could be different between specific groups (e.g. men and women) and how they could be altered by protective factors, such as higher education, once accounting for genetic and biological risk.

The project will be carried out over three years to perform a series of studies on large groups of participants. The results of these studies could advance our understanding of how many factors could increase the risk of dementia in older people by increasing brain damage and by worsening cognitive abilities beyond normal ageing processes. Additionally, it will help clarify whether these factors affect (or protect) various social groups differently. As a result, these sources of evidence could help design more effective and targeted interventions to prevent cognitive decline.