Frequency of daily conversation and risk of dementia: A population-based cohort study in Japan.

OBJECTIVES

This population-based study evaluated the association between frequency of daily conversation and risk of dementia, with consideration to living arrangement (living alone or living with someone) and sex.

METHODS

Participants aged 50 to 79 years who reported their frequency of daily conversation in 2000-2003 within the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study were followed from 2006 to 2016 for incident dementia using certification records for national long-term care insurance in Japan. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) were estimated using a Cox proportional hazards model with adjustment for factors such as lifestyle and medical history. Subgroup analyses were performed by living arrangement and sex.

RESULTS

Among 35,488 participants, 3334 were diagnosed with dementia. Fully adjusted HRs compared with a conversation frequency of almost every day were 0.80 (95 % CI: 0.69-0.93) for every day with many people, 0.88 (0.80-0.97) for every day with several people, 1.18 (1.06-1.31) for 1-4 times/week, 1.17 (0.97-1.42) for 1-3 times/month, and 2.06 (1.49-2.85) for <once/month (P for trend <0.001). The association was not modified by living arrangement. Men living alone showed a high HR, at 1.71 (1.26-2.32) for high conversation frequency (almost every day or more) and 2.60 (1.71-3.95) for low conversation frequency (1-4 times/week or less), while women living alone did not show a high risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower conversation frequency was associated with higher risk of dementia. Living alone was associated with a higher risk in men, but not in women.