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Older adults who regularly participate in social activities may experience slower declines in memory and other cognitive abilities, according to new research that strengthens the connection between social engagement and healthy brain aging.
The study, led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, followed 6,084 older adults from the National Health and Aging Trends Study for eight years, including adults in their 80s, 90s, and older. Greater participation in neurologically informed social activities was associated with slower declines in memory, executive function, and orientation, abilities that can change early during aging and may precede broader cognitive decline or dementia.
Those who participated in nearly all nine activities examined in the study showed the strongest preservation of cognitive function.
The findings could have implications for nurses and other healthcare professionals caring for older adults as the number of people living with dementia worldwide is projected to reach an estimated 78 million by 2030.
Connecting Social Activity to Brain Health
Researchers used the Felix Social Engagement Index, a neurologically grounded measure that evaluates social engagement based on activities linked to healthy brain cells in areas vulnerable to dementia.
The new research builds on previous findings showing that people with higher scores on the index had more robust gray matter in brain regions relevant to dementia. This time, researchers examined whether those social behaviors were also associated with cognitive function over time.
“I’m bringing neuroscience and neuroimaging expertise to a field that has largely been driven by social constructs,” says Cynthia Felix, a Pitt postdoctoral associate in the School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, geriatrician and lead author of the study.
Could Social Activities Become Part of Healthy Aging Care?
Familiar activities such as attending church gatherings, playing bingo, or going to the movies could play a more deliberate role in healthy aging care through a concept known as social prescribing.
Social prescribing connects patients with nonmedical activities and community resources that may support their health and well-being.
“By linking measurable social behaviors to specific brain systems and long-term cognitive health, this work provides a biological foundation for social prescribing,” says Felix. “It helps clinicians and communities recommend targeted social activities as part of healthy aging and dementia prevention.”
The findings do not establish that social engagement prevents dementia. Instead, they show an association between greater participation in certain social activities and slower cognitive decline over time.
What the Findings Could Mean for Nurses
For nurses working in geriatrics, primary care, home health, community health, and other settings serving older adults, the findings add social engagement to the broader conversation about factors that may support healthy aging.
The research could also inform community aging programs, the national SilverSneakers program, and aging-in-place initiatives such as Pitt’s Healthy Home Laboratory.
Researchers said incorporating measures of social engagement could benefit multidomain dementia prevention research, including U.S. POINTER, which evaluates how lifestyle interventions such as diet and exercise may protect cognitive function. Studying social engagement alongside these interventions could help researchers determine how the factors work together and which combinations may offer the greatest cognitive benefit.
For nurses, the research offers another reason to look beyond traditional clinical measures when considering an older adult’s overall health. Social participation is already an important part of quality of life. These findings suggest staying socially engaged may also play a role in maintaining cognitive function as people age.
