Overview

• Analyzing 13,765 adults in the Health and Retirement Study over a median eight years, researchers documented 1,820 cases of cognitive impairment.
• Participants in the highest third for life purpose had about a 28% lower hazard of impairment than those in the lowest third after adjusting for age, sex, education, depressive symptoms, race and ethnicity, and APOE E4.
• Greater purpose was associated with a modest delay in onset of decline, averaging roughly 1.4 months over an eight-year period.
• The association appeared across racial and ethnic groups and persisted in those with elevated genetic risk, though smaller subgroup sizes limited some comparisons.
• Purpose was measured with a seven-item Ryff well-being scale and cognition with biennial mTICS testing, and the authors stress the observational design and potential for reverse causality.