Objectives:

From a longitudinal perspective, the direction of the relationship between cognitive functioning and well-being in old age, both conceptually and empirically, is still under debate. Therefore, we aimed to disentangle the different longitudinal relationship patterns proposed and whether those differed between young-old and old-old adults.

Methods:

We used latent change score modeling based on longitudinal data from 1,040 older adults (M = 74.54 years at Time 1 [T1], median = 73 years) to analyze reciprocal lead–lag relationships over 6 years in executive functioning (trail making test [TMT] completion time) and well-being (life satisfaction), taking into account chronological age, sex, education, leisure activities, and chronic diseases.

Results:

In young-old adults (<73 years), longer TMT completion time at T1 (i.e., lower executive functioning status) significantly predicted steeper subsequent decline in well-being. This was not the case for old-old adults (≥73 years), for whom this relationship was significantly different from that of the young-old (moderation effect). In either group, well-being status at T1 did not predict changes in TMT completion time.

Discussion:

Lower executive functioning may predict a subsequent decline in well-being in young-old adults only. Wider implications in a context of promotion of healthy aging are discussed.

中文翻译：

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较低的执行功能预示着仅在年轻人中，但随后在老年人中，幸福感的下降会更陡峭

目标：

从纵向上看，无论是从概念上还是从经验上，老年认知功能与幸福感之间关系的方向仍在争论中。因此，我们的目的是弄清建议的不同纵向关系模式以及年轻人与老年人之间是否存在差异。

方法：

我们使用了基于1040名老年人（在时间1 [T1]，M = 74.54岁，中位数= 73岁）的纵向数据的潜在变化评分模型，分析了执行功能在6年内的倒数-滞后关系（跟踪测试[TMT ]完成时间）和幸福感（生活满意度），并考虑了年龄，性别，受教育程度，休闲活动和慢性病。

结果：

在年轻的成年人（<73岁）中，T1的TMT完成时间更长（即执行功能状态降低）显着预测了随后的幸福感急剧下降。老年人（≥73岁）则不是这种情况，因为他们的这种关系与年轻人（显着影响）存在显着差异。在这两个组中，T1的幸福状态均不能预测TMT完成时间的变化。

讨论：

执行功能降低可能仅预示着年轻人的幸福感会随之下降。讨论了促进健康老龄化的更广泛意义。