Influence of social resources on incidence of MCI and its subtypes among the elderly

Objective To analyze the effect of social resources,including social network and social activity,on mild cognitive impairment(MCI)and its subtypes in community elderly of Guiyang city. Methods A total of 2 144 persons aged 60 years and older with normal cognitive function and social resources was followed up with questionnaire and scale surveys in Guiyang city.The influences of social resources on the incidence of MCI and its subtypes were analyzed with Cox regression model. Results At the beginning the survey,there were 2 144 participants and at the end of the survey,the number of participants was 1 401,of wihic there were 102 new MCI(71 amnesic MCI and 31 nonamnesic MCI).The incidence density of MCI was 15.21/1 000 person years and those of amnesic MCI and nonamnesic MCI were 10.59/1 000 person years and 4.62/1 000 person years.In the 1 401 respondents,the number of elders contacting with their children, relatives,friends,and neighbors were 822(58.7%),782(55.8%),898(64.1%),and 956(68.2%),respectively.There were 937(66.9%)elders married and lived with others.The number of the elders with poor,less,moderate,and abundant social resource was 52(3.7%),283(20.2%),673(48.0%),and 392(28.0%),respectively.There were 180(12.9%) elders not taking part in congregate activity,227(16.2%)elders taking part in intellectual activity,807(57.6%)elders taking part in physical activity,and 187(13.3%)taking part in other activities.There were 501(35.8%)elders having activity occasionally and 719(51.3%)elders having activity usually.Keeping contact with children and friends were protective factors for amnestic MCI(relative riskRR_children=0.510,95% confidence intervalCI:0.317-0.820;P=0.005;RR_friends=0.611, 95% CI:0.380-0.982;P=0.042).There was no influence on the incidence of MCI subtypes for other social resources. Conclusion The results show that adequate social resources are helpful to decrease the incidence of amnestic MCI.