| Poster | Poster Session 09 Program Schedule
02/16/2024
03:30 pm - 04:45 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)
Poster Session 09: Epilepsy | Oncology | MS | Infectious Disease
Final Abstract #25
The Association Between Perceived Social Support, Cognition, and Mobility in Older Adults with and without Multiple Sclerosis
Hannah Cohen, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Bronx, United States
Roee Holtzer, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University; Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, United States
Category: Multiple Sclerosis/ALS/Demyelinating Disorders
Keyword 1: cognitive functioning
Keyword 2: motor function
Keyword 3: multiple sclerosis
Objective:
Research has shown that perceived social support (PSS) is beneficial for cognitive functioning, mental and physical health, and life satisfaction in older adults. In older adults with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), motor and cognitive impairments are common. Advances in treatments for MS have resulted in a growing number of aging individuals with MS, making it imperative to identify modifiable risk factors that affect cognition and mobility, such as PSS. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the association between PSS, cognition, and mobility in older adults with MS and healthy controls.
Participants and Methods:
Participants were older adults with MS (N = 94; M age = 64.59, SD + 4.20 years; 68.1% female) and community-residing older adults (N = 114; M age = 67.95, SD + 7.12 years; 64.0% female). PSS was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Modified Social Support Survey (MSSS). Verbal memory was assessed with the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R), processing speed was assessed with the Oral Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), executive functioning was assessed with the Trail Making Test, Part B (TMT-B) and mobility was assessed with the Timed-25-Foot-Walk-Test (T25FWT). Linear regressions stratified by group status (MS vs. control) assessed the associations between PSS, cognition, and mobility.
Results:
Linear regressions controlling for age, gender, education, and medical comorbidities showed that higher total MSSS scores were associated with higher SDMT and TMT-B scores in the MS group (β = 0.244, p = .017; β = 0.224, p = .033) and higher SDMT scores in the control group (β = 0.176, p = .039). Emotional/informational support (β = 0.201, p = .048) and positive social interaction (β = 0.279, p = .006) were associated with SDMT performance in the MS group; in the control group, emotional/informational support (β = 0.194, p = .022) was associated with SDMT performance. Further analyses adjusting for depression attenuated all associations between PSS total and scale scores and SDMT performance in the MS group only (p > .05). In contrast, emotional/informational support (MS: β = 0.255, p = .028) (control: β = 0.239, p = .019) and positive social interaction (MS: β = 0.263, p = .027) (control: β = 0.253, p = .017) were associated with TMT-B performance in both groups even after adjusting for depression. In the MS group only, positive social interaction was associated with HVLT-R (β = 0.230, p = .047) and T25FWT (β = -0.270, p = .020) performance.
Conclusions:
Among older adults, associations between PSS total and scale scores, cognition, and mobility varied as a function of MS status. Overall PSS, emotional/informational support, and positive social interaction were significantly associated with processing speed in the MS group; however, depressive symptoms attenuated these associations. In the control group, overall PSS and emotional/informational support were associated with processing speed and remained significant after adjusting for depressive symptoms. Group status had no impact on associations between PSS and executive functioning; notably, depressive symptoms did not attenuate these associations. In the MS group, positive social interaction was associated with verbal memory and mobility.
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