Late-Life Volunteering May Prevents Cognitive Decline

Volunteering in later life is connected with improved cognitive function, notably executive function and episodic memory. These are the findings of a new UC Davis Health study presented today (July 20) at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2023 in Amsterdam.

“We hope these new data encourage individuals of all ages and backgrounds to engage in local volunteering — not only to benefit their communities, but potentially their own cognitive and brain health,” said Donna McCullough, Alzheimer’s Association chief mission and field operations officer.

Volunteering for educational, religious, health-related, or other philanthropic groups allows elderly people to be more physically active, boost social connection, and give cognitive stimulation that may protect the brain. However, there has been a paucity of research on the link between volunteering and cognitive function, particularly in large, heterogeneous groups.

Yi Lor, a UC Davis epidemiology doctorate student, and Rachel Whitmer, the study’s primary investigator, investigated volunteering practices across a varied group of 2,476 older persons. The Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences Study (KHANDLE) and the Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR) participants.

The participants in the study were 48% Black, 20% white, 17% Asian, and 14% Latino, with an average age of 74. A total of 1,167 participants (43%) reported volunteering in the previous year.

Volunteering, according to the researchers, was associated with higher baseline results on measures of executive function and verbal episodic memory. Even after controlling for age, gender, education, wealth, practice effects, and interview style (phone versus in-person), this remained true.

Those who volunteered frequently had the highest levels of executive function.

“Volunteering may be important for better cognition in late life and could serve as a simple intervention in all older adults to protect against risk for Alzheimer’s disease and associated dementias,” Lor said. “Our next steps are to examine whether volunteering is protective against cognitive impairment, and how physical and mental health may impact this relationship.”

Volunteering was also related with a trend toward decreased cognitive decline over a 1.2-year follow-up period, but this association was not statistically significant.

“You’re not in control of your family history or age — you can’t turn back the clock. But you are in control of how you spend your day and life,” Whitmer said. “Volunteering is about keeping your brain active. It’s also about socializing, which keeps you engaged and happy, and potentially lowers stress.”

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