Neuroscientists know this There is a link between loneliness and cognitive decline in older people, although the exact scale of this link is still tough to understand. A modern longitudinal study provides evidence that some people who feel lonely are more likely to have memory problems, although this does not necessarily mean that their brains are aging faster.
The report, published in the journal Aging & Mental Health, found that older adults with higher levels of loneliness performed worse on immediate and delayed recall tests. Yet the rate of decline in their memory over the six years was virtually the same as that of people who were not single.
“This suggests that loneliness may play a more significant role in the initial state of memory than in its progressive decline,” he added. he said Luis Carlos Venegas-Sanabria from the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at Universidad del Rosario, who led the research. “The study highlights the importance of addressing loneliness as an important factor in older adults’ cognitive performance.”
A six-year study of thousands of lonely people
The team analyzed data from the Study of Health, Aging and Retirements in Europe (SHARE), one of the most tough longitudinal databases for studying aging. For six years, researchers followed 10,217 adults aged 65 to 94 from 12 European countries. They assessed their level of loneliness and performance on memory tests.
Results show that age was the most essential determinant of memory level and the rate of its deterioration. From the age of 75, the results began to decline faster. After the age of 85, the decline became more pronounced. Depression and chronic diseases such as diabetes also lowered the initial score. Loneliness, while affecting baseline, did not accelerate the slope of cognitive decline.
The study also found that physical activity was associated with better initial memory scores. People who engaged in moderate or vigorous physical activity at least once a month remembered more words on immediate and delayed recall tests. This effect did not change the rate of decline, but it did raise the baseline level, which functions as a kind of “cognitive buffer.”
Although the study did not examine the causes of the association between loneliness and cognitive function, previous research has proposed likely mechanisms. Loneliness is often associated with less social interaction, which is a factor in cognitive performance. It is also associated with an increased risk of depression, which directly affects memory tests. Additionally, single people tend to have more health problems, such as hypertension and diabetes, which also affect cognitive function.
According to United Nations forecasts, by 2050, every sixth person in the world will be over 65 years of age. Societies are entering a stage where senior age will no longer be an exception, but will become the norm. Dementia, like other neurodegenerative diseases that appear with age, will be a grave challenge for health care facilities.