Association Between Subjective Cognitive Decline and Social and Emotional Support in US Adults

Abstract

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) has been linked to Alzheimer’s Disease in the literature. However, little is known about whether SCD is associated with social/emotional support (SES). To investigate this association, this study utilized the 2015 and 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data. A study population of 17206 participants aged 45 years and older who responded to both the Emotional Support and Life Satisfaction survey module and the Cognition Decline survey module were included. Of this study population, 11.22% had SCD, and 21.83% reported insufficient SES. A much higher percentage of those with insufficient SES experienced SCD compared to those with sufficient SES (21.15% vs 8.45%, P