Purpose in Life and Cognitive Function in the Malaysian Ageing and Retirement Study

Sutin AR 1 , Mansor N 2 , Luchetti M 1 , Stephan Y 3 , Terracciano A 4

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, USA
  • 2 Social Wellbeing Research Centre, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Euromov, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
  • 4 Department of Geriatrics, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, USA
Clin Gerontol, 2024 Sep 08.
PMID: 39244651 DOI: 10.1080/07317115.2024.2400283

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Evidence for the association between purpose in life and cognitive health is primarily from North American and European samples. This study evaluates this association in a large sample from Malaysia, an upper-middle-income country in Southeast Asia.

METHODS: Participants (N = 5,579) from the Malaysian Ageing and Retirement Study reported on their purpose in life and subjective memory and were administered tasks that measured episodic memory, verbal fluency, and overall cognitive function.

RESULTS: Purpose was associated with better subjective memory (β=.13), episodic memory (β=.06), verbal fluency (β=.12), and overall cognitive function (β=.07) (ps 

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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