Relationship Between Combined Lifestyle and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults in Rural Communities
Abstract
Objective To analyze the relationship between combined lifestyle and cognitive function among older adults in rural communities. Methods A multi-stage stratified whole-group sampling method was employed to select older adults aged ≥60 years in four villages of Chongming District,Shanghai as the participants.Their somatic indicators were measured by trained personnel,and data on demographic characteristics,cognitive function,and lifestyle were collected through face-to-face interviews.Binary Logistic regression and trend tests were adopted to explore the relationship between combined lifestyle and cognitive function.Additionally,the subgroup analysis and the test for multiplicative interactions were conducted for the relationship between combined lifestyle and cognitive function.Furthermore,sensitivity analysis was performed to verify the robustness of the results. Results A total of 1 449 older adults were investigated,and 1 408 were effective.The older adults showed the average age of(73.25±5.69) years and the cognitive impairment prevalence of 15.63%.Among them,163 older adults lived unhealthy lifestyles,accounting for 11.6%.After adjusting for demographic factors,disease history,and medication history,moderate lifestyles(OR=0.609,95%CI=0.394-0.944,P=0.026) and healthy lifestyles(OR=0.377,95%CI=0.212-0.672,P=0.001) had negative associations with the prevalence of cognitive impairment.Among combined lifestyle components,dietary diversity(OR=0.404,95%CI=0.211-0.771,P=0.006),physical activity intensity(OR=0.460,95%CI=0.235-0.901,P=0.024),and sleep duration(OR=0.611,95%CI=0.416-0.897,P=0.012) had negative associations with the prevalence of cognitive impairment.The trend test revealed that the negative association between cognitive impairment and combined lifestyle enhanced with the sequential increase in combined lifestyle score(Pfor trend=0.011).The subgroup analysis revealed an interaction effect between gender and lifestyle subgroups,and a healthy lifestyle exerted a protective effect on women(Pfor interaction=0.013). Conclusions Among older adults in rural communities,cognitive impairment has a significantly negative association with healthy lifestyles.As the combined lifestyle score increases,the risk of developing cognitive impairment shows a decreasing trend,which suggests that comprehensive lifestyle interventions may have a protective effect on cognitive function.
The paper
Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Zhongguo Yi Xue Ke Xue Yuan Xue Bao Acta Academiae Medicinae Sinicae, 1 Dec 2025

