Watching TV and Cognition: The SPAH 2-Year Cohort Study of Older Adults Living in Low-Income Communities

Abstract

Watching TV is a highly prevalent leisure activity among older adults and, in many cases, the only leisure option of those living in low-income communities. While engaging in leisure activities have proven to protect older adults from cognitive decline, the effects of watching TV on cognition of this population is controversial in the literature. This study investigated the impact of watching TV on global cognitive function, immediate memory, verbal fluency, risk of dementia of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) in a cohort of older adults residents of socioeconomically deprived areas of São Paulo, Brazil. We used data from the São Paulo Aging & Health Study (SPAH). Participants aged 65 years or over, with no dementia diagnosis at baseline and who completed the 2-year follow-up assessment were included in this study (n = 1,243). Multivariable linear regression models were performed to assess the effect of watching TV on global cognitive function, immediate memory and verbal fluency. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the risk of developing dementia and aMCI. Models were controlled by cognitive performance at baseline, sociodemographic characteristics and functional status. Cognitive performance at baseline and follow-up were similar. Thirty-one participants were diagnosed with dementia, and 23 with aMCI 24 months after inclusion in the study. Watching TV did not show any positive or negative effect on global cognitive function, immediate memory, verbal fluency, risk of dementia and risk of aMCI. It is good news that watching TV did not predict the decline in cognition in elders. However, it is essential to increase opportunities for other leisure activities for low-income and low-educated older adults if we do consider that leisure activities protect cognition decline in older adults. In the coming decades, developing countries will experience the highest burden of dementia and more than fun, public policies to promote leisure activities might be a strategy to alleviate this burden shortly.