Social support network typologies and their association with dementia and depression among older adults in Singapore: a cross-sectional analysis

OBJECTIVES: To examine the social support network type and its associations with depression and dementia among older adults in Singapore. DESIGN: This study is a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly study. The Practitioner Assessment of Network Type was used to identify five social support network types. Odds Ratios (OR) of dementia and depression were estimated with logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression, respectively, adjusted for sociodemographic variables. SETTING: Singapore. OUTCOME MEASURES: 10/66 criteria and Automated Geriatric Examination for Computer Assisted Taxonomy computer algorithm. PARTICIPANTS: 2421 older adults aged 60 years and above, and their informants. RESULTS: Logistic regression revealed that as compared with participants in the family dependent social support network type, those in the locally integrated social support network type were negatively associated with dementia. It was observed that it is the older adults’ perception of the quality of social interaction that influences the likelihood of depression. CONCLUSION: The social support network typology presents knowledge about the older adults’ social network profile and their cognitive functioning-ability which would help stakeholders better identify older adults who might be at risk of cognitive decline or experiencing delay in diagnosis of dementia.