Kontakt X:X | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2026.030

Population patterns of temporal orientation in older adults: a cross-national analysis of SHARE Wave 9 in Central EuropeNursing - Original article

Hedvig Kiss ORCID...1, *, Péter Takács ORCID...2, Orsolya Nyilas3, Zoltán Balogh ORCID...4
1 Semmelweis University, Doctoral College, Health Sciences Division, Budapest, Hungary
2 University of Debrecen, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Health Informatics, Debrecen, Hungary
3 University of Nyíregyháza, Institute of Applied Human Sciences, Nyíregyháza, Hungary
4 Semmelweis University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Budapest, Hungary

Background: Temporal orientation is a brief cognitive indicator widely used in clinical and population-based assessments. Impaired temporal orientation has been associated with functional decline and increased care needs, yet population-level evidence from Central Europe remains limited.

Objectives: This study examined patterns of temporal orientation among adults aged 50 years and older in the Visegrád Four countries.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from SHARE Wave 9 were analysed. Temporal orientation was assessed using four standard items and summarised as a total score and a binary indicator (perfect vs. non-perfect orientation). Ordinal and binary logistic regression models were fitted, adjusting for age, educational attainment (ISCED-97), gender, and country. Item-level analyses were also performed.

Results: Increasing age was consistently associated with lower odds of perfect temporal orientation, while higher educational attainment showed a robust protective effect. Men had moderately lower odds of perfect orientation compared to women. Significant country differences were observed, primarily driven by performance on the "day of the month" item.

Conclusion: Despite pronounced ceiling effects, temporal orientation captures meaningful population-level gradients. As a low-burden indicator, it may support the identification of cognitively vulnerable groups in ageing populations, without replacing comprehensive diagnostic assessment.

Keywords: Cognitive ageing; Population-based study; SHARE; Temporal orientation
Conflicts of interest:

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this work.

Received: February 2, 2026; Revised: February 2, 2026; Accepted: May 3, 2026; Prepublished online: May 6, 2026 

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