An Exploratory Study on the Predictors of Cognitive Improvement among Older Adults: Using Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging(KLoSA)

Abstract

This study aimed to examine how cognitively impaired function of the elderly is changed over time and what factors are associated with cognitive improvement over 2 years. The study used Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging Wave 1 and Wave data. Participants included 1,569 elders aged 65 and over who scored 23 or lower in K-MMSE(Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination) at Wave 1. Hierarchical logistic regression was employed for the analysis. The findings were as follows: (1) 78.6% of the participants reported that they had cognitive impairment at Wave2, while 21.4% of the participants that their cognitive impairment was improved over 2 years. (2) Socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, education, religion, income are found to be associated with cognitive improvement over 2 years. That is, younger participants, males, individuals with higher education, with religion, and with higher income presented higher probability of cognitive improvement. (3) Those practicing regular physical activity and having more numbers of socially engaging activities presented higher probability of cognitive improvement over 2 years. Based on the results implication was discussed.