The Association between Mental Health and Cognitive Ability: Evidence from The UK Household Longitudinal Study

The relationship between poor mental health and cognitive impairments in older age is well- established. Social engagement also influences cognitive ability; however much of the research on this relationship has not accounted for the impact of mental health and demographic factors. This study examined the associations between cognitive ability and mental health in older adults, controlling for social interaction and socio-demographic factors. In total, 7,685 individuals aged 65 or older were drawn from the UK Household Longitudinal Study Understanding Society (1). Cognitive abilities were assessed using self-reports and performance on five tasks (immediate and delayed word recall, subtraction, number series and numerical ability). Mental health scores were derived from the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). We controlled for social interaction, gender, ethnicity, educational background, marital status, number of children, and geographic location. We found positive relationships between mental health and all measures of cognitive ability except performance on subtraction and number series tasks. These relationships remained after controlling for social interaction. Demographic factors that contributed to the relationship between mental health and cognitive ability included being White, having higher education, being male for numerical tasks only, and being female, married or divorced for verbal memory tasks only. Overall, our results suggest that the relationship between mental health and cognitive abilities persists when controlling for social interaction alongside socio- demographic factors in older adults, underscoring the importance of addressing these factors in policies and interventions for healthy ageing.