Role of grandparenting in postmenopausal women's cognitive health: Results from the women's healthy aging project

Abstract

Objective: Preserving aging cognition improves quality of life and delays dementia onset. Previous studies have shown that social engagement can maintain cognition; however, none has examined the effects of grandparenting, an important role among postmenopausal women. This study aims to examine the role of grandparenting in cognition among postmenopausal women.Methods: Participants were 186 Australian women from the longitudinal prospective Women's Healthy Aging Project. Cognition was assessed using the Symbol-Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), California Verbal Learning Test, and Tower of London.Results: Amount of time spent minding grandchildren predicted differences in SDMT performance (P < 0...