Cognitive Reserve and Its Relationship With Memory Changes: An Analysis of the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)

OBJECTIVES: To examine the longitudinal association between cognitive reserve (CR)-related proxies and episodic memory in older adults, and to explore the role of sociodemographic and clinical risk factors.

METHODS: Data were drawn from 2279 participants of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), with baseline in wave 5 (2013) and follow-up in wave 9 (2021-2022). A CR-proxy score was constructed using education, occupation, physical activity, social engagement, and loneliness. Logistic regression models were used to predict immediate and delayed recall performance at follow-up, adjusting for age, sex, depression, vascular risk factors, and sensory impairments.

RESULTS: Higher levels of CR-related proxies significantly reduced the odds of impairment in both immediate recall (OR = 0.55, p < 0.001) and delayed recall (OR = 0.46, p < 0.001). Age was associated with poorer memory outcomes, while women showed better performance in delayed recall being female predicted lower odds of preserved delayed recall. Depression was significantly related to poorer immediate recall, but other health conditions and sensory factors were not significant predictors.

CONCLUSIONS: CR-related proxies were strong predictors of memory performance over the 9-year period, particularly for delayed recall. These findings reflect sociobehavioural influences associated with CR development, rather than direct evidence of CR as a neurofunctional mechanism. Promoting cognitively, socially and physically enriching activities, together with addressing depression, may help preserve memory function in aging populations.