Background Social support is essential in the daily activities of the elderly, which can impact their cognitive functions over time. Aim of the study This study investigates the hypothesis that there is a link between social support and cognitive function in the elderly living in the Egyptian community using the Arabic translation of the Survey of Health, Ageing, Retirement in Europe (SHARE) questionnaire. Subjects and methods Cross-sectional analytic study was conducted as a part of the pilot study for A Longitudinal Study of Egyptian Healthy Ageing (AL-SEHA) project. It included 299 participants (50+ years of age). Investigators collected data using the Arabic translation of the SHARE questionnaire in five Egyptian Universities. Data were then uploaded to the Social Research Centre (SRC) at the American University in Cairo (AUC). Results The prevalence of declined cognitive functions was 39.467% (95% CI: 33.89-45.04). Cognitive impairment was significantly less among university and postgraduate degree holders (p<0.001), married (p=0.0378) or contacted by their kids on a daily or weekly basis (p=0.0364). Conclusion Being married, with a university degree or higher, and increased contact frequency with children, all showed positive correlation with cognitive function in our sample. In conclusion, this research contributes to our understanding of the impact of family network and support and cognitive function in the older Egyptian population. Our findings can be a base to add on to the literature.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

The present work has been supported by the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD), through the funding program: Higher Education Dialogue with the Muslim World, project (Ageing in the East Mediterranean Region: EMage)

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