Relationship between cognitive function and social life activities in the general population - Consideration by the iwaki health promotion project

The social life activity is a habitual behavior, which involves physical and cognitive functions. Therefore, there is a possibility that the social life activity has an effect on cognitive functions. In this study, we focused on personal interaction and daily schedule as the social life activities, so as to examine the relationship between social life activity and cognitive function. The Subjects of this investigation were 563 adults who participated in the Iwaki Health Promotion Project 2015. Their cognitive functions were measured by MMSE, moreover relationships and influence structure of factors were analyzed by using the multiple regression analysis and graphical modeling. As a result, MMSE in males between 50 to 64 years of age was positively correlated with "sports", "TV radio newspaper magazine" and "rest and relaxation". However, no correlations were found in 65 years and older. MMSE in females between 50 to 64 years of age showed a positive correlation with "child rearing", however, negative correlations with "meals" and "sleep". For older females (age of 65 years and over), MMSE was positively correlated with "seeing family members more than once a month". Therefore, it is important for males to positively engage in sports and leisure activities from the middle age in order to raise the cognitive reserve power, and for females to have more opportunities for personal interactions in order to improve the psychological well-being and to increase physical activity.