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Association between childhood parental involvement and late‐life cognitive function: A population‐based cross‐sectional study among cognitively intact community‐dwelling older adults in Japan
Author(s) -
Morita Ayako,
Fujiwara Takeo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geriatrics and gerontology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1447-0594
pISSN - 1444-1586
DOI - 10.1111/ggi.14238
Subject(s) - medicine , cognition , confounding , association (psychology) , dementia , cross sectional study , verbal fluency test , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , population , demography , clinical psychology , gerontology , neuropsychology , psychology , disease , psychiatry , pathology , sociology , psychotherapist , environmental health
Aim Although poor childhood rearing environment is known to negatively impact late‐life cognitive function, there is a scarcity of evidence on the contribution of positive parenting behaviors. The present study investigates the association between parental involvement in childhood and late‐life cognitive function. Methods A total of 266 older adults aged between 65 and 88 years living in Wakuya City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, without indication of mild cognitive impairment or dementia, participated in a survey. Parental involvement in childhood was assessed by a questionnaire, and late‐life cognitive function was measured by the Japanese version of the Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment (QMCI) screening test (range: 0–100). Multiple regression analysis was performed to investigate the association, adjusting for potential confounders and mediators. Results After adjusting for age, sex, other child‐rearing environment, and academic performance in grade 6, older adults with a high level of positive parental involvement in childhood scored 6.00 (95% CI: 2.39, 9.61) points higher for the QMCI total score than those without. Parental involvement in childhood showed significant dose–response positive associations with the QMCI total score ( P < 0.001), clock‐drawing test score ( P < 0.05), and verbal fluency score ( P < 0.001). Among the six types of positive parental involvement, book reading showed a significant independent positive association with QMCI total score ( P < 0.01) and logical memory score ( P < 0.01). Conclusions Greater parental involvement in childhood, particularly book reading, was associated with better late‐life cognitive function. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2021; 21: 794–801 .