THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN LIFE SPACE MOBILITY AND COGNITION IN OLDER ADULTS

Abstract As people age, both mobility and cognitive function may decline at varying rates. This systematic review evaluated the relationship between cognition and life space mobility in older adults. Electronic databases PsycINFO, Embase, Ovid and CINAHL were searched using key terms including ‘life space’ AND ‘cognition’, yielding 163 abstracts for screening. Data were extracted from 31 peer-reviewed articles in English that included subjects over the age of 60, as well as quantitative measures describing the association between life space mobility and cognition. The range of correlation coefficients between life space mobility and the Mini-Mental State Examination were r= -0.47 to .491. Correlation values were r = -.128 to .259 for life space mobility and executive function, r= .206 to .230 for memory, and r= -.185 to .365 for perceptual and processing speed. Executive function had the highest predictive capacity for life-space mobility. Life space scores <40 were associated with significantly more long-term cognitive impairment as compared to those who were unrestricted. R-squared values for cognition and life-space mobility ranged from .113 to .491 explaining a small to moderate amount of variance. Furthermore, findings demonstrated that associations between cognition and life space may be mediated through sociodemographic, physical performance and mental status.