Can Social Relationships Aid Cognitive Function?
Although superagers (ie, people older than 80 with episodic memory as good as that of a middle-aged adult) and their cognitively average-for-age peers report similarly high levels of psychological well-being, superagers demonstrate greater levels of positive social relationships, according to a study published October 23, 2017, in PLoS One. Thirty-one superagers and 19 cognitively average-for-age peers completed the Ryff 42-item Psychological Well-Being questionnaire, which includes subscales of autonomy, positive relations with others, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. The groups did not differ on demographic factors, including estimated premorbid intelligence. Compared with cognitively average-for-age peers, superagers endorsed greater levels of positive relations with others. Superagers had a median overall score of 40 in positive relations with others, compared with 36 in the control group.
Cook Maher A, Kielb S, Loyer E, et al. Psychological well-being in elderly adults with extraordinary episodic memory. PLoS One. 2017;12(10):e0186413.
—Kimberly Williams