The long-term association between social activity, cognitive function and life satisfaction in Korean older adults: Analyzing 10 years of data using multivariate latent growth modeling

Aim The aim of this study was to verify the long-term effect between social activity, cognitive function and life satisfaction in Korean older adults after adjusting for gender, age, and education. In addition, we test the mediating impact of cognitive function on the relationship between social activity and life satisfaction. Methods This study used the data from Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging survey, which was conducted biennially from 2006 to 2016. Data of 4,164 adults aged 65 years and older (mean age = 73.0 years) were analyzed with multivariate latent growth modeling. Results Results indicate that increases in social activity were related to increases in cognitive function and life satisfaction. Increases in cognitive function were associated with increases in life satisfaction. Finally, social activity indirectly impacted life satisfaction through cognitive function. Conclusion Results suggest that efforts to maintain social activity and cognitive function are needed to improve life satisfaction in older adults.