Summary: Feeling lonely for extended periods of time was associated with more rapid memory decline in those aged over 65.

Source: University of Michigan

Prolonged loneliness in adults over 65 may be an important risk factor for accelerated memory aging, according to a new study led by University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers.

We found that feeling lonely for a longer duration of time was associated with more rapid memory decline, suggesting that it is never too late in life to work on reducing feelings oflonelinessto support healthy aging, said Lindsay Kobayashi, assistant professor of epidemiology and senior author of the study published in the journalAlzheimers & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimers Association.

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

Xuexin Yu, a doctoral candidate in epidemiology and lead author of the study, 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 tend to have larger social networks than men, which may make women less likely to feel lonely than men, but more vulnerable once experiencing long-term loneliness, Yu said. Social stigma and the reluctance to admit loneliness may also be a factor in this observed gender-specific association.

Loneliness and objectivesocial isolationare important factors in the health ofolder adults, and researchers say that reducing loneliness in mid-to-late life may help maintainmemory functionfor a longer duration.

In addition to Yu and Kobayashi, Ashly Westrick, postdoctoral fellow at U-Ms Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, is a co-author of the study.

Author: Press OfficeSource: University of MichiganContact: Press Office University of MichiganImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Cumulative loneliness and subsequent memory function and rate of decline among adults aged 50 in the United States, 1996 to 2016 by Xuexin Yu et al. Alzheimers & Dementia

Abstract

Cumulative loneliness and subsequent memory function and rate of decline among adults aged 50 in the United States, 1996 to 2016

The study objective was to investigate the association between loneliness duration and memory function over a 20-year period.

Data were from 9032 adults aged 50 in the Health and Retirement Study. Loneliness status (yes vs. no) was assessed biennially from 1996 to 2004 and its duration was categorized as never, 1 time point, 2 time points, and 3 time points. Episodic memory was assessed from 2004 to 2016 as a composite of immediate and delayed recall trials combined with proxy-reported memory. Mixed-effects linear regression models were fitted.

A longer duration of loneliness was associated with lower memory scores (P< 0.001) and a faster rate of decline (P< 0.001). The association was stronger among adults aged 65 than those aged <65 (three-way interactionP= 0.013) and was stronger among women than men (three-way interactionP= 0.002).

Cumulative loneliness may be a salient risk factor for accelerated memory aging, especially among women aged 65.

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Cumulative Loneliness Associated With Accelerated Memory Aging in Older Adults - Neuroscience News