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In the last decades, the relationship between social networking sites (SNSs) and older people's loneliness is gaining specific relevance. Studies in this field are often based on qualitative methods to study in-depth self-perceived issues, including loneliness and well-being, or quantitative surveys to report the links between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and older people's well-being or loneliness. However, these nonexperimental methods are unable to deeply analyze the causal relationship. Moreover, the research on older people's SNS use is still scant, especially regarding its impact on health and well-being. In recent years, the existing review studies have separately focused their attention on loneliness and social isolation of older people or on the use of ICTs and SNSs in elderly populations without addressing the relationship between the former and the latter. This thorough qualitative review provides an analysis of research performed using an experimental or quasi-experimental design that investigates the causal effect of ICT and SNS use on elderly people's well-being related to loneliness. The aims of this review are to contrast and compare research designs (sampling and recruitment, evaluation tools, interventions) and the findings of these studies and highlight their limitations. Using an approach that integrates the methodological framework for scoping studies and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for systematic reviews, we identified 11 articles that met our inclusion criteria. A thematic and content analysis was performed based on the ex post categorization of the data on the selected studies, and the data were summarized in tables. The analysis of the selected articles showed that: (1) ICT use is positively but weakly related to the different measures of older people's well-being and loneliness, (2) overall, the studies under review lack a sound experimental design, (3) the main limitations of these studies lie in the lack of rigor in the sampling method and in the recruitment strategy. The analysis of the reviewed studies confirms the existence of a beneficial effect of ICT use on the well-being of older people in terms of reduced loneliness. However, the causal relationship is often found to be weak. This review highlights the need to study these issues further with adequate methodological rigor.

Making early and informative diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is highly important for planning timely and appropriate interventions aimed at dementia risk reduction. However, there is currently no agreement on the MCI criteria, leading to wide heterogeneity in the prognosis of MCI patients and high reversion rates. Our study aimed to compare the prognostic value of Conventional (Petersen/Winblad) and Neuropsychological (Jak/Bondi) criteria for the diagnosis of MCI. We directly compared the ability of each classification method to predict progression to dementia and the stability of the diagnosis over 12 years in a population-based sample of 1021 older adults without dementia. The relative impact of subjective complaints and objective impairment on clinical progression was further evaluated. Baseline MCI diagnosis with the Neuropsychological and Conventional criteria was associated with a comparable risk of dementia over time. Across the study period, the Neuropsychological criteria led to more consistent diagnoses (63.2% vs. 43.2%). The copresence of subjective memory complaints and objective impairment at baseline was associated with increased dementia risk within both diagnostic frameworks. These results further support the use of comprehensive neuropsychological assessment to make timely and appropriate MCI diagnoses and show the added prognostic value of subjective complaints.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, information and communication technology (ICT) became crucial for staying connected with loved ones and accessing health services. In this scenario, disparities in ICT use may have exacerbated other forms of inequality, especially among older adults who were less familiar with technology and more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 health consequences. This study investigated changes in ICT use, psychological and physical health, and social capital before and after the pandemic among the oldest old population (aged 80 years or older after the pandemic) and explored how internet use influenced these changes. We leveraged data from the InveCe.Ab study, a population-based longitudinal cohort of people born between 1935 and 1939 and living in Abbiategrasso, a municipality on the outskirts of Milan, Italy. Participants underwent multidimensional assessment at baseline (2010) and after 2, 4, 8, and 12 years. We restricted our analysis to cohort members who participated in the last wave (ie, 2022) and who did not have a diagnosis of dementia (n=391). We used linear mixed models to assess the impact of COVID-19 and time on changes in social capital, physical and psychological health, and ICT use in a discontinuity regression design while controlling for age, sex, education, and income satisfaction. Then, we assessed the influence of internet use and its interaction with COVID-19 on these changes. COVID-19 had a significant impact on social relationships (β=-4.35, 95% CI 6.38 to -2.32; P<.001), cultural activities (β=-.55, 95% CI -0.75 to -0.35; P<.001), cognitive functioning (β=-1.00, 95% CI -1.28 to -0.72; P<.001), depressive symptoms (β=.42, 95% CI 0.10-0.74; P=.009), physical health (β=.07, 95% CI 0.04-0.10; P<.001), and ICT use (β=-.11, 95% CI -0.18 to -0.03; P=.008). Internet use predicts reduced depressive symptoms (β=-.56, 95% CI -1.07 to -0.06; P=.03) over time. The interaction between internet use and COVID-19 was significant for cultural activities (β=-.73, 95% CI -1.22 to -0.24; P=.003) and cognitive functioning (β=1.36, 95% CI 0.67-2.05; P<.001). The pandemic had adverse effects on older adults' health and social capital. Contrary to expectations, even ICT use dropped significantly after the pandemic. Internet users maintained higher psychological health regardless of time and COVID-19 status. However, COVID-19 was associated with a steeper decline in cognitive functioning among internet nonusers. Policy makers may develop initiatives to encourage ICT adoption among older adults or strengthen their digital skills. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01345110; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT01345110.

Background Preventing dementia onset is one of the global public health priorities: around 35% of dementia cases could be attributable to modifiable risk factors. These estimates relied on secondary data and did not consider the concurrent effect of non-modifiable factors and death. Here, we aimed to estimate the potential reduction of dementia incidence due to modifiable risk factors elimination, controlling for non-modifiable risk factors and for the competing risk of death. Methods Participants from the InveCe.Ab population-based prospective cohort (Abbiategrasso, Italy) without a baseline dementia diagnosis and attending at least one follow-up visit were included ( N  = 1100). Participants underwent multidimensional assessment at baseline and after 2, 4, and 8 years, from November 2009 to January 2019. Modifiable risk factors were low education, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, depression, smoking, physical inactivity, hearing loss, loneliness, heart disease, stroke, head injury, and delirium. Non-modifiable risk factors were age, sex, and APOE ε4 genotype. The primary endpoint was dementia diagnosis within the follow-up period (DSM-IV criteria). We performed competing risk regression models to obtain sub-hazard ratio (SHR) for each exposure, with death as competing risk. The exposures associated with dementia were included in a multivariable model to estimate their independent influence on dementia and the corresponding population attributable fraction (PAF). Results Within the study period (mean follow-up, 82.3 months), 111 participants developed dementia (10.1%). In the multivariable model, APOE ε4 (SHR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.22–2.92, p  = 0.005), diabetes (SHR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.00–2.39, p  = 0.043), heart disease (SHR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.03–2.36, p  = 0.037), stroke (SHR = 2.31, 95% CI 1.35–3.95, p  = 0.002), and delirium (SHR = 8.70, 95% CI 3.26–23.24, p  <  0.001) were independently associated with increased dementia risk. In the present cohort, around 40% of dementia cases could be attributable to preventable comorbid diseases. Conclusions APOE ε4, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and delirium independently increased the risk of late-life dementia, controlling for the competing risk of death. Preventive intervention addressed to these clinical populations could be an effective approach to reduce dementia incidence. Further studies on different population-based cohort are needed to obtain more generalizable findings of the potential of dementia prevention in the real-world setting. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01345110 .

Identifying older adults at increased dementia risk is a public health priority. Existing scores often emphasize midlife factors or variables of limited utility in late life. We developed a late-life dementia risk score using data from the InveCe.Ab cohort, including 1100 dementia-free individuals aged 70–74 and followed for 12 years. Candidate risk and protective factors were selected based on systematic reviews and expert consensus. Stepwise Cox models were used to construct a weighted score with and without adjustment for non-modifiable factors. External validation was performed in the TRELONG cohort. The selected modifiable factors were diabetes, alcohol consumption, hypercholesterolemia, social participation, and cognitive activity, with strong predictive accuracy for dementia incidence (HR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.14–1.33; p < 0.026), also after adjustment for non-modifiable factors. In the TRELONG cohort, the score remained significant (HR = 1.19; 95% CI 1.05–1.10; p = 0.008), though its predictive value decreased when adjusting for non-modifiable factors. The LateDem-Risk score offers a practical tool for risk stratification in adults aged ≥ 70 years. Further studies are needed to evaluate its predictive performance in different settings and populations.

Older adults make little use of social networking sites (SNS). SNS has become essential for maintaining social contacts and countering loneliness in the current era marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. This study explores the attitudes of the oldest-old on SNS after attending a training course on SNS use. The study’s goals are to investigate their personal experiences, choices of use and to survey their views on the usefulness of SNS and its effects on mitigating loneliness for older people. The interviews were conducted in the context of the “Ageing in a Networked Society—Social Experiment Study.” The participants, who were randomly selected for the course on SNS use, agreed to be interviewed during the post-intervention evaluation (N = 39). Results show SNS are mainly and productively used with relatives and friends. A positive view is reported for the potential impact of using SNS to counter loneliness, but mainly for socially isolated older individuals, while only a few find online contact futile. Intergenerational communication and a perspective of SNS as a leisure activity were identified as motivational factors for SNS use. Rare use or non-use are mainly related to privacy and security issues and technical difficulties. This is also the reason underlying the majority’s preference for WhatsApp over Facebook. These findings confirm the need for widespread SNS-focused online communication training interventions for seniors. On the speculative level, these results complement the existing literature by delving deeper into the perceptions of new older SNS users, a poorly studied segment of the population.

Aging, even when healthy, involves changes in cognitive functioning that can gradually affect the everyday activities and well-being of older people. Reading, which requires the integrity of several functions and their integration, is important to maintaining high cognitive and emotional stimulation over time. Our study aimed to investigate whether reading ability declines with aging. To explore also why reading would decline, we explored the changes in the performance of visual and attention tasks. A group of 58 neurologically healthy older people aged from 65 to 75 underwent neuropsychological assessment to investigate their global cognitive functioning, reading skills, crowding, and attention components. We found a decline in reading abilities as a function of aging (β = 0.34, p < 0.05). We did not find an increase in crowding or difficulties in visual acuity. Furthermore, we found no decline with age in tasks of simple reaction times, visuospatial attention, and other single components of attention. Interestingly, we instead found a worsening with age in the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (β = −0.26, p < 0.05), involving attention, working memory, and processing speed, which explains part of the reading decline. Our results suggest that task complexity is a fundamental aspect to account for aging changes.

Background By 2050, the global population aged 60+ will exceed 2.1 billion, making cognitive health a priority. Previous research highlighted the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle for dementia prevention, however to date it is not clear the natural history of multiple health‐related behaviors in older populations. This study aimed to identify distinct trajectories of multiple lifestyle habits and their association with dementia risk in a population‐base sample of older adults followed for 12 years. Method The InveCe.Ab study (NCT01345110) recruited individuals aged 70–74 in Abbiategrasso (Milan) at baseline (November 2009–January 2011) and followed them after 2, 4, 8, and 12 years. We include participants without dementia at baseline and performing at least two follow‐ups (n = 966). A multivariate longitudinal K‐means clustering approach grouped participants based on the longitudinal patterns of six lifestyle habits (physical activity, healthy diet, smoking, alcohol use, cognitive activity, and social engagement). Cox proportional hazards models examined the risk of incident dementia across clusters, adjusting for age, sex, education, and ApoE4 status. Result Over the follow‐up, 159 participants (16.5%) developed dementia. Cluster analysis identified 3 different clusters (Figure 1). Cluster B (n = 390), characterized by healthier lifestyle patterns, was slightly younger, more educated, predominantly male (table 1). Compared with cluster B, cluster A (n = 531) had a 1.7‐fold higher risk of dementia, while the less prevalent cluster C (n = 45) showed a non‐significant increase with a wide confidence interval (table 2). Conclusion Among community‐dwelling older adults, 40% displayed a pattern of health‐related behaviors characterized by consistently higher engagement in multiple leisure‐time activities, no smoking, healthy diet, and moderate alcohol consumption. This lifestyle pattern was associated with reduced dementia incidence in late‐life, controlling for non‐modifiable factors. These findings underscore the importance of multifaceted lifestyle habits in preserving cognitive health among older adults and could inform future community‐level preventive initiatives.

Older adults are less familiar with communication technology, which became essential to maintain social contacts during the COVID-19 lockdown. The present study aimed at exploring how older adults, previously trained for Social Networking Sites (SNSs) use, experienced the lockdown period. In the first two weeks of May 2020, telephone surveys were conducted with individuals aged 81–85 years and resident in Abbiategrasso (Milan), who previously participated in a study aimed at evaluating the impact of SNSs use on loneliness in old age (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04242628). We collected information on SNSs use, self-perceived loneliness, and social engagement with family and friends. Interviewed participants were stratified as trained (N = 60) and untrained (N = 70) for SNSs use, based on their attendance to group courses held the previous year as part of the main experimental study. The groups were comparable for sociodemographics and clinical features. Participants trained for SNSs use reported significantly higher usage of SNSs and reduced feeling of being left out. Compared to pre-lockdown levels, individuals trained for SNSs use showed a lighter reduction in social contacts. These findings support the utility of training older adults for SNSs use in order to improve their social inclusion, even in extreme conditions of self-isolation and perceived vulnerability.