Table 1.
Description of cognitive behavioural tasks.
Table 2.
Description of lifestyle variables.
The grouping into ‘lifestyle factors’ is the result of the factor analysis outlined in more detail below.
Fig 1.
Exploratory structural equation model results.
Y-axis reflects Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) measure of model fit; X-axis labels consist of two digits separated by an underscore (e.g. 2_4), where the first refers to the number of cognitive latent variables, and the second to the number of lifestyle latent variables. Model 2_6 has the best overall fit, then Model 3_6; however, Model 2_5 was selected for further examination due difficulties interpreting the sixth lifestyle factor in the 2_6 and 3_6 models.
Fig 2.
A) Cognitive CFA. For multitasking and motor speed, lower scores indicate better performance (hence the negative factor loadings). B) Fluid factor scores for each participant. Fluid abilities decline with age. C) Crystallized factor scores for each participant; crystallized abilities show slight increase and then decrease. All parameters shown are fully standardized.
Fig 3.
Residuals as measure of healthy cognitive ageing. A) Crystallized residuals, B) fluid residuals, C) correlation between crystallized and fluid residuals; r(706) = .59, p < .001.
Fig 4.
Following the factor loadings obtained via the ESEM, 24 broad lifestyle variables loaded onto five latent lifestyle variables: mental health, social engagement, intellectual engagement, education/SES and physical health. All parameters shown are fully standardized. All but three lifestyle factor loadings (income, internet usage and alcohol) were in the expected direction.
Fig 5.
Separate regression results for A) fluid abilities and B) crystallized abilities. All five lifestyle factors were significantly associated with cognitive health across the lifespan.
Table 3.
Separate regression results for fluid and crystallized abilities.
Fig 6.
Results of multiple regressions. Four out of five lifestyle factors made unique contributions.