Author(s)

Sayuri Takechi^1*, Kimio Yoshimura², Yuko Oguma^3,4, Yoshinobu Saito^3,4, Masaru Mimura¹

¹Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
²Department of Health Policy and Management, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
³Graduate School of Health Management, Keio University, Fujisawa, Japan.
⁴Sports Medicine Research Center, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan.

The concept of social capital encompasses all relationships and networks among people in a local community or society as a whole. It has been found to be associated with the health and daily living status of people. Furthermore, an association between social capital and cognitive functions among the elderly has been suggested in recent years. However, the number of such reports is very few. Hence, the present study aims to evaluate the relationship between social capital and cognitive functions among the elderly living in a local community in Japan. A questionnaire survey was administered to 192 elderly individuals belonging to 10 neighborhood elderly groups. A regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between cognitive functions and the level of engagement with the local community, after adjusting for age, gender, and symptoms of depression. Valid responses were collected from 145 participants (mean age: 75.3 years). An analysis of the data concerning the level of engagement with the local community revealed a significant difference in the cognitive function scores between the group of people who indicated that they had someone they could consult (n = 69) and the group that indicated they had no one to consult (n = 76) (regression coefficient: -0.61, p = 0.0038, 95% confidence interval: -1.02 to -0.20). This result indicates the existence of a significant correlation between social capital and cognitive functions of the elderly living in a local community. In future studies, we need to investigate the same with a larger number of participants from a wider geographical area, and by incorporating more indicators for a comprehensive evaluation of social capital.

Social Capital, Cognitive Functions, Elderly, Community

Takechi, S. , Yoshimura, K. , Oguma, Y. , Saito, Y. and Mimura, M. (2017) Relationship between Social Capital and Cognitive Functions among Community-Based Elderly. Advances in Alzheimer's Disease, 6, 45-51. doi: 10.4236/aad.2017.62004.