Trajectories of cognitive decline by widowhood status among Korean older adults

Objectives Given the limited evidence regarding the longitudinal impact of widowhood on cognitive function in later life, the present study aimed to investigate the longitudinal effect of widowhood status on cognitive change among Korean older adults. Methods The study sample was drawn from a nationally representative data set, the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA); it consisted of 3,660 Korean adults aged 60 and over who were married at baseline. Our dependent variable, cognitive function, was measured by the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE). Widowhood status was measured with the combination of widowhood status and duration. Growth curve models were constructed using five waves of the KLoSA (2006-2014) to examine the longitudinal trajectories of cognitive changes. Results In the unadjusted model, widowed older adults had significantly lower cognitive function than their nonwidowed counterparts regardless of widowhood duration. Adjusting for covariates, results from the growth curve models showed that widowed older adults with widowhood duration 4 to 6 years had a significantly steeper decline in cognitive function than nonwidowed older adults (P < 0.05). Conclusions These findings suggest that widowhood is detrimental for late-life cognitive function. Further research is required to understand the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Policy and practice implications are discussed according to the cultural context.