Caring for grandchildren may slow cognitive decline in the elderly - study

Regular help with grandchildren may be linked to slower cognitive decline in older adults, suggests a study published in the American Psychological Association's journal Psychology and Aging. The work was led by researchers from Tilburg University in the Netherlands.

The authors analysed data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) from 2,887 grandparents over 50 (average age 67). Participants completed questionnaires and cognitive tests three times between 2016 and 2022.

The questionnaires asked whether participants had helped to care for their grandchildren in the last year, how often this had happened and what exactly they had done - from playing and sharing leisure time together to helping with homework, cooking, accompanying them to school and even sleepovers.

The results showed that grandparents who participated in caring for their grandchildren scored higher on average on tests of memory and verbal fluency than those who did not - even after accounting for age, health and other factors. The authors found that it was the fact of being involved in caring for grandchildren, rather than the specific frequency or mix of activities, that was more important.

Separately, the researchers note that among women (grandmothers), involvement in grandchild care was associated with a smaller decline in cognitive test scores over the follow-up period. The authors emphasise that further research is needed to confirm the results and to understand the role of context - for example, whether help is voluntary, whether the family is supportive of the grandparent, or whether caregiving is perceived as stressful and an 'obligation'.

Importantly, such findings show a link but do not prove direct causality: perhaps people with more preserved cognitive function are more likely and willing to be involved in socialising and caring for grandchildren. This is also an issue the authors suggest exploring further.