Abstract
Based on the complexity of cognitive-related influences and the specificity of Chinese liquor culture, this study aimed to explore the associations and potential interactions between demographic characteristics, alcohol consumption, life and atmospheric environment, and cognitive function in seniors through a comprehensive analysis, in order to provide evidence support and feasible recommendations. The study sample was selected from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, which included 40,583 seniors aged 65–115 years. Data analysis and processing were performed by R 4.0.4. The relationship between the factors and cognition was modeled and analyzed by generalized additive model, and the interaction was explored by combining the ANOVA. The generalized additive model confirmed that alcohol consumption was detrimental to the cognitive status of older adults, especially for liquor (≥ 38°) and beer. The higher the average daily alcohol consumption, the greater the impairment. SO2 and PM2.5 showed the same negative effects. In contrast, life environment factors such as good education, balanced diet, and positive activity participation had a positive effect on cognition in seniors. In addition, interactions between alcohol consumption and average daily alcohol consumption, frequency of vegetable and meat intake, and between open-air activities, and air pollution were also confirmed. Poor lifestyle choices such as alcohol consumption, unbalanced diet, lower activity participation, and air pollution deteriorate cognitive function in seniors. It is recommended that the elderly population should avoid alcohol consumption, maintain a balanced diet, and be physically active. Attention should also be paid to the effects of air quality.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the Peking University Open Research Data repository. https://opendata.pku.edu.cn/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi%3A10.18170%2FDVN%2FWBO7LK.
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The funder of the study had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report. The corresponding authors had full access to all the data in the study and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.
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The study was supported by grants from the Peking University Start-up Grant (71013Y2114).
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LH and JJ conceived and designed the study. LH collected the source data of the study. LH and JJ prepared software and performed the statistical analysis. LH prepared the manuscript and interpreted the data. JJ assisted with the editing of the paper and provided critical comments. JJ revised it critically for important intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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The Research Ethics Committees of Peking University (number IRB00001052-13074) and Duke University granted approval for the CLHLS, including collections of questionnaire data with written informed consent before participation. The study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. This study only showed the secondary aggregated data, and we did not include any data of their personal information, including name, identity information, address, telephone number, etc. None of the authors in this study had access to identifying patient information during the analysis of the data.
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Han, L., Jia, J. Alcohol consumption, poor lifestyle choices, and air pollution worsen cognitive function in seniors: a cohort study in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 26877–26888 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17891-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17891-8