Cognition in Whitehall II 'SuperAgers': An Analysis of Dementia Risk Factors

While many experience cognitive decline, a subset called SuperAgers can reach late life with cognitive functioning comparable to those decades younger. We aimed to categorise whether dementia risk factors may be responsible for SuperAger status in old age. SuperAgers were identified in the UK Whitehall II cohort (n = 3513, 25.88% female) as participants 65 years or older who scored above the sex specific mean of mid-life individuals on a test of verbal memory and who scored within one standard deviation above the mean on a test of fluency in older age. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between late-life dementia risk factors and SuperAger status. Higher education (OR = 1.23, SE = 0.05, 95% CI = [1.10, 1.36], p < 0.001), female sex (OR = 1.30, SE = 0.09, 95% CI = [1.10, 1.55], p = 0.003), and lower age (OR = 0.67, SE = 0.04, 95% CI = [0.61, 0.73], p < 0.001) were associated with increased odds of SuperAger status. Absence of hypertension (OR = 0.76, SE = 0.08, 95% CI = [0.64, 0.89], p < 0.001), lower depressive symptoms (OR = 0.99, SE = 0.01, 95% CI = [0.98, 1.00], p = 0.05), higher fruit and vegetable intake (OR = 1.08, SE = 0.03, 95% CI = [1.02, 1.15], p = 0.01), and greater social activity engagement (OR = 1.03, SE = 0.01, 95% CI = [1.01, 1.06], p = 0.02) were also associated with higher odds. These findings suggest hypertension, depressive symptoms, diet, and social engagement show promising but modest associations with SuperAger status, however, they do not fully explain exceptional cognitive ageing.