Psychosomatic medicine
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Psychosomatic medicine · Nov 2010
Comparative StudyWhat aspects of social network are protective for dementia? Not the quantity but the quality of social interactions is protective up to 15 years later.
To test the association between several social networks variables reflecting both structural characteristics and quality of relationships with the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease 5 and up to 15 years later. ⋯ The only variables associated with subsequent dementia or Alzheimer's disease were those reflecting the quality of relationships. The delay between social network assessment and dementia diagnosis was from 5 up to 15 years, thus minimizing the problem of reverse causality.