A study posted on the website of University of Michigan (UM) on Tuesday has found that older adults' regular visits to eateries such as fast food restaurants and coffee shops may be as protective of cognitive health as marriage.

The researchers interviewed 125 older adults aged 55-92 in the Minneapolis metro area and accompanied them on visits to their neighborhood haunts. Through analysis of the interviews, they found that older adults valued these types of eateries as places of familiarity and comfort; places that were physically and economically accessible; and places to socialize with family, friends, staff and customers.

The researchers then tested this idea in a national cohort to determine whether access to eateries was associated with cognitive function. They drew on the Reasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke, or REGARDS, study, which collects longitudinal information by mail and telephone from more than 30,000 aging black and white individuals. The participants were an average age of 64 in 2003-2007.

REGARDS respondents residing in the most sparse retail food environments had cognitive scores that were modestly lower, about 0.1 points, than residents living in the highest density environments. The difference in cognitive well-being between individuals living in high density and low density neighborhoods was equivalent to about a year difference in age, which is strongly linked to age-related cognitive decline in older adults.

Philippa Clarke, a professor of epidemiology at the UM School of Public Health and research professor at the Survey Research Center, worries what impact the COVID-19 pandemic will have on these older adults' ability to visit these places.

"As these 'third places' close for business during the pandemic, the opportunities for social interaction for older adults are constrained. This research highlights the importance of informal places for social interaction for maintaining cognitive health with aging, and raises important questions about the impact of their closure for the future rates of dementia in older Americans."

The study has been published in the journal Health and Place.