Staying Socially Active to Maintain Better Cognitive Health in Older Adults: Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study ( KFACS )

Introduction With the aging population, cognitive decline in the elderly population is of much concern. Researchers have studied different protective factors against cognitive decline, and one factor that has proven to be effective is an individual's social network. In this study, we aimed to assess the association between social contact frequency with others, as a proxy measure of social network, and cognitive function in the elderly Korean population. Methods We used the data from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS), which was followed biennially, and our final analysis consisted of the baseline, first, second, and third follow‐up data. The main independent variable social contact frequency was divided into three groups: “Frequently” (everyday), “Moderately” (1–3 times a week), “Rarely” (once a month or less), and the main dependent variable fluid intelligence was turned into a z‐score and used as a continuous variable. In the final analysis, generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to analyze the longitudinal association between social contact frequency and fluid intelligence. Results In our study, more frequent contact with friends was associated with better cognitive function across all time points for males (Moderately: β = 0.04, S.E. = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01 ~ 0.07; Frequently: β = 0.06, S.E. = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.03 ~ 0.10) and females (Moderately: β = 0.08, S.E. = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.04 ~ 0.12; Frequently: β = 0.09, S.E. = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.05 ~ 0.13) compared to Rarely group when the target of contact was friends. Contact with family or neighbors did not show any significant association with fluid intelligence. Conclusion Our findings provide valuable insights in this line of work by specifying the type of contact that is beneficial for the elderly population and could aid future researchers developing interventions against cognitive decline.