2026 / Loneliness, Older adults, Social capital

The Social Environment and Cognitive Aging Over the Life Course: Laying Out Critical Concepts and Research Gaps

Citation

Hicken, M. T., DeAngelis, R., Rigby, D., Burnside, L., Adar, S., Burgard, S., Davis, B. A., Donnelly, R., Finlay, J. M., Hajat, A., Lee, J., Perry, B. L., Thorpe, L. E., & Umberson, D. (2026). The social environment and cognitive aging over the life course: laying out critical concepts and research gaps. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 22(7). doi.org/10.1002/alz.71648

Link to file

Two older adults sit on a park bench. In the background is a mixed-use building.The social environment includes a person’s relationships, workplace, and the neighborhood, town, or city where they live. A growing body of research shows that social environments are linked to how well people’s minds age and to their risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Still, not much is known about how these social factors affect cognitive function across a person’s life and into older age.

To help fill that gap, the authors describe key features of the social environment and recommend priority areas for future research on social environments and cognitive aging. They organize their discussion around three main areas: social connections, where people live, and where they work. They then point out important gaps in what is currently understood, both conceptually and in terms of available data, before laying out directions for future studies. The goal is to strengthen understanding of how social-environmental exposures throughout life are connected to cognitive function and dementia risk in older age.

Abstract

The social environment refers to our interpersonal relations, workplaces, and neighborhoods, towns, or cities in which we live. A growing literature indicates that social environments are related to cognitive aging and risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). Still, relatively little is known about how social‐environmental exposures affect cognitive function over the life course and into older ages. Addressing this limitation, our paper outlines key features of the social environment and recommends priority areas of research on the social environment and cognitive aging. We divide our discussion into three subdomains: social connections, residential context, and work context. We then identify important gaps in the conceptual and empirical literature before outlining avenues for future research to strengthen our understanding of how social‐environmental exposures over the life course link with cognitive function and AD/ADRD risk in late life.

Highlights

  • The social environment is linked to AD/ADRD risk, but key concepts and measures require clarity.
  • Key features of the social environment linked to life course cognitive aging are discussed.
  • Focal gaps in the conceptual and measurement literature are discussed.