Cumulative loneliness connected with accelerated memory aging in older adults

Prolonged loneliness in adults over 65 could be a significant risk factor for accelerated memory aging, in accordance with a fresh study led by University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers.

“We discovered that feeling lonely for an extended passage of time was connected with faster memory decline, suggesting that it’s never too late in life to focus on reducing feelings of loneliness to aid healthy aging,” said Lindsay Kobayashi, assistant professor of epidemiology and senior writer of the analysis published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Kobayashi and colleagues analyzed interview data from a lot more than 9,000 adults over age 50 from the U.S. Health insurance and Retirement Study from 1996 to 2016. They evaluated participants’ cumulative durations of loneliness from 1996 to 2004 with regards to changes in memory function on the following 12 years from 2004 to 2016.

Xuexin Yu, a doctoral candidate in epidemiology and lead writer of the analysis, said the association between loneliness and memory aging was strongest in individuals aged 65 and over, with women experiencing stronger and faster memory declines than men.

“Women generally have larger internet sites than men, which might make women less inclined to feel lonely than men, but more vulnerable once experiencing long-term loneliness,” Yu said. “Social stigma and the reluctance to admit loneliness can also be one factor in this observed gender-specific association.”

Loneliness and objective social isolation are essential factors in the fitness of older adults, and researchers say that reducing loneliness in mid-to-late life can help maintain memory function for an extended duration.

Along with Yu and Kobayashi, Ashly Westrick, postdoctoral fellow at U-M’s Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, is really a co-author of the analysis.

More info: Xuexin Yu et al, Cumulative loneliness and subsequent memory function and rate of decline among adults aged 50 in the usa, 1996 to 2016, Alzheimer’s & Dementia (2022). DOI: 10.1002/alz.12734