Longitudinal associations between social relationships and cognitive function among Chinese older adults: The mediating role of healthy lifestyles

We aimed to explore whether social relationships and cognitive function were reciprocally related and whether healthy lifestyles mediate their association. This study included 3372 Chinese adults from the years 2014–2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. Baseline social relationships were negatively associated with a change in cognitive function (β = –0.030, p = 0.043). Participants with a 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in social relationships had an approximately 6% reduced risk of developing cognitive impairment. However, baseline cognitive function did not independently predict social relationships. The association between △social relationships and △cognitive function was partially mediated by △a healthy lifestyle (B = 0.025, 95% CI = 0.013–0.041). The association between social relationships and cognitive function may be unidirectional. Policies that promote cognitive function based on social relationships would benefit by taking into account lifestyle factors.