The Association of Meteorological Factors with Cognitive Function in Older Adults

Yuehong Qiu, Kaigong Wei, Lijun Zhu, Dan Wu and Can Jiao
Additional contact information
Yuehong Qiu: School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518052, China
Kaigong Wei: School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518052, China
Lijun Zhu: School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518052, China
Dan Wu: School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518052, China
Can Jiao: School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518052, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: Individual and meteorological factors are associated with cognitive function in older adults. However, how these two factors interact with each other to affect cognitive function in older adults is still unclear. We used mixed effects models to assess the association of individual and meteorological factors with cognitive function among older adults. Individual data in this study were from the database of China Family Panel Studies. A total of 3448 older adults from 25 provinces were included in our analysis. Cognitive functions were measured using a memory test and a logical sequence test. We used the meteorological data in the daily climate dataset of China’s surface international exchange stations, and two meteorological factors (i.e., average temperature and relative humidity) were assessed. The empty model showed significant differences in the cognitive scores of the older adults across different provinces. The results showed a main impact of residence (i.e., urban or rural) and a significant humidity–residence interaction on memory performance in older adults. Specifically, the negative association between humidity and memory performance was more pronounced in urban areas. This study suggested that meteorological factors may, in concert with individual factors, be associated with differences in memory function in older adults.

Keywords: older age; cognitive function; meteorological variables; mixed effects model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/5981/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/5981/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:11:p:5981-:d:567724

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().