THE CONFLUENCE OF SOCIAL ISOLATION, LONELINESS, AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH COGNITIVE DECLINE
2024
The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on Cognitive Decline
Sample size: 44170
publication
Evidence: high
Author Information
Author(s): Svec Joseph, Hyun Jinshil, Lee JeongEun
Hypothesis
This study seeks to examine and investigate both the independent and concurrent effects of isolation and loneliness on cognitive functioning.
Conclusion
Social isolation and loneliness negatively affect memory recall in older adults, but loneliness has a stronger impact when social isolation is low.
Supporting Evidence
- Numerous studies indicate that social isolation and loneliness are crucial predictors of cognitive decline among older adults.
- Cognitive functioning is positively linked with robust social connections.
- Significant and negative associations of isolation and loneliness were observed for both immediate and delayed recall scores.
Takeaway
Being alone and feeling lonely can make it harder for older people to remember things, but feeling lonely matters more when they are not isolated.
Methodology
The study used fixed effects linear regression models on data from eight waves of the Health and Retirement Study.
Participant Demographics
Older adults aged 60 years or older.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p < 0.01
Statistical Significance
p<0.01
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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