The influence of sociodemographic characteristics and leisure activities in the performance on cognitive training platform primerCOG

• Main Author: Teixeira, José
• Publication Date: 2017
• Other Authors: Alecrim, Patrícia, Freitas, Sandra, Silva, Cláudia, Costa, Vanessa
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.19/4836
• topic: Aging; Cognitive Reserve; Cognitive Impairment; Cognitive Training

Introduction: Society is rapidly aging, and there is a consequent increase in the prevalence of dementia. Cognitive deficits are related to many variables, some of them are pointed out as possible protectors. According to cognitive reserve theory, practicing stimulating activities throughout life may lead to a decrease in the risk of dementia. In this context, MediaPrimer is developing primerCOG, an online platform for cognitive training, which includes eleven cognitive stimulating activities for seniors. Objective: Evaluate the influence of variables age and education, and leisure activities, on maximum level achieved in primerCOG's activities. Methods: Quantitative non-experimental and transversal design. Sample includes 30 cognitively healthy seniors. Results: Positive associations were observed between the participants' level of education and the maximum level of performance in all activities. On the other hand, there was a negative association of performance in the majority of activities with the participants' age. Additionally, it was found that participants who regularly practiced cognitively stimulating leisure time activities performed better in activities. Conclusions: Results confirm that some variables influence cognitive performance in cognitively healthy seniors, which may be useful to understand the development of dementia. In the future, it will be important to replicate the study with new variables, such as the number of hours spent per day in the activities or the participant's pre-morbid IQ.