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An analysis of five long-term surveys covering 57,793 people in 24 countries found that social participation was associated with higher cognitive scores over time. Taking part in at least three activities, including volunteering or sports club membership, was linked with the strongest associations, but the observational study cannot show that activities caused the difference.
A large international study found that older adults who took part in social activities tended to have higher cognitive test scores over time than those who took part in none, with the strongest association among people reporting at least three activities. The findings, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, show an association—not proof that social participation prevents cognitive decline.
The researchers pooled information from five long-term, nationally representative surveys conducted in the United States, England, China, Mexico and countries included in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Together, the surveys covered 24 countries. Participants reported which social activities they did, while researchers assessed memory and executive function at different survey waves.
The analysis included 57,793 participants, whose average ages across the surveys ranged from 57 to 73. They were followed for an average of six years. Researchers combined test results into a global cognitive-function score, with higher scores indicating better performance. Across the pooled data, scores were higher among people who reported social participation, and tended to rise with the number of activities.
Participation in at least three activities was associated with higher yearly cognitive scores than reporting none. Volunteering and membership in sports clubs were associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline across all five survey groups. Attending training courses and caring for children were associated with higher scores year on year. Political, community, church and religious group involvement did not show a consistent association with better cognitive scores.
Which Activities Showed Links
The findings give researchers a broad comparison across several populations of how different kinds of social participation relate to cognitive test performance. Rather than pointing to one activity as a guaranteed safeguard, the results suggest that variety and sustained participation may matter: people reporting more activities generally had higher scores, and the strongest association appeared among those involved in three or more.
The results may inform research and programs designed to support social engagement in later life. The authors say the findings support developing targeted efforts to promote diverse, sustained participation. But the study did not test an intervention, establish a recommended activity level, or show that joining a club or volunteering will prevent dementia. Individual circumstances and access to activities also differ, and the analysis cannot determine why some groups showed stronger associations.
The study examined cognitive scores and decline, not whether social activity changes an individual’s clinical dementia risk. That distinction matters: the researchers note that dementia is preceded by cognitive impairment, and cite an estimate that global dementia prevalence could reach nearly 153 million people by 2050. The study does not establish that its findings would reduce that projected number.
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How Researchers Compared Five Surveys
Earlier research on social activity and cognition has produced inconsistent findings, according to the study authors. They suggest that differences in sample size, geographic coverage and the ways studies define social participation and cognitive outcomes may help explain the variation. Pooling long-term data from five surveys allowed the team to examine the association across a wider range of settings and participants.
Each survey followed participants over multiple waves: the US Health and Retirement Study from 2010 to 2021; the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing from 2008 to 2019; the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study from 2011 to 2018; the Mexican Health and Ageing Study from 2012 to 2018; and the European ageing survey from 2011 to 2020. The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. Its title is “Association between social activity and cognitive enhancement among older adults: Results from five longitudinal cohort studies,” and its DOI is 10.1136/jech-2025-225670.
The authors offer possible explanations, not mechanisms demonstrated by this analysis. They point to the “use it or lose it” idea: cognitively stimulating engagement could support neural plasticity and connections between brain cells. They also suggest that meaningful social activity may support psychological wellbeing, which could affect stress-related processes. The study did not directly test these explanations.
““Collectively, these findings suggest that social activities may operate as a multidimensional protective factor against cognitive deterioration in older adults.””
— The study authors
Causation and Study Limits
The analysis was observational, so it cannot establish that social activities caused higher cognitive scores or slowed decline. People who take part in more activities may differ in other ways that affect cognition, and the researchers say they adjusted only partially for potentially influential factors.
The five surveys did not use fully standardised methods, which limits direct comparisons. The study also counted the quantity of activities but did not capture their quality, participants’ motivation or their experience of taking part. Those factors could matter, the authors say. It remains unclear which aspect of social engagement, if any, accounts for the observed associations, and whether taking up activities changes cognitive outcomes for people who were previously less involved.
Some associations were stronger among women, adults aged 60 or older, people with more education, those who were not depressed, people living alone, people of normal weight, rural residents, and participants who smoked or drank alcohol. These subgroup findings describe patterns in the data; they do not show that social activity has a different causal effect for each group.
Testing Programs Over Time
The authors call for targeted interventions that encourage diverse, sustained social engagement among older adults. The report does not specify a single program, activity schedule or next study milestone. Future research could test whether structured opportunities to volunteer, join sports groups or attend training courses change cognitive outcomes, while tracking the quality and meaning of participation as well as its frequency.
Until such evidence is available, the current finding is best understood as a broad association across five surveys—not a clinical recommendation or a promise of prevention. Further work would also need to account more fully for differences among surveys and other factors that could influence both social participation and cognition.
Key Questions
No. It was an observational study and found an association between social participation and cognitive scores. It cannot show that activities caused higher scores or prevented decline.
Which activities were linked with better cognitive outcomes?
Volunteering and sports club membership were associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline across all five survey groups. Training courses and caring for children were associated with higher cognitive scores year on year. The findings do not establish that any activity guarantees a benefit.
How many people and countries were included?
The analysis included 57,793 participants from five national surveys covering 24 countries. Participants were followed for an average of six years.
Why can’t the findings be treated as a prevention plan?
The surveys were not fully standardised, the analysis only partly accounted for potentially influential factors, and researchers counted the number of activities without measuring their quality or participants’ motivation and experience. The study did not test an intervention.
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