A new study reveals that persistent loneliness has detrimental consequences on brain aging and significantly increases the risk of dementia.
The research tracked the self-assessments of loneliness and neurological health of more than 600,000 people worldwide.
The study found that loneliness was linked to a 31% increase in the likelihood of a person developing some form of dementia. Loneliness also increases the risk of cognitive disorders by 15%.
According to study co-author Dr Páraic Ó Súilleabháin, from the University of Limerick, Ireland, “these are very important results which indicate that loneliness is a critically important risk factor in future development of dementia.
The study was published October 9 in the journal Natural mental health.
In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a report on loneliness and isolation among Americans, calling it an “epidemic.” The effects of loneliness on physical and mental health are already well known.
“Our lab has found that loneliness is critical to future health in a variety of ways, including our longevity, that is, how long we live,” noted Ó Súilleabháin, who directs the Personality Lab, of individual differences and biobehavioral health from the Irish University.
“Loneliness is critically important for cognitive health, as it leads to the future development of dementia, vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and more general cognitive impairments,” he said. he explained.
He called the new study “very important research that will have far-reaching consequences.”
The study was led by Dr. Martina Luchetti of the Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee.
Speaking in the University of Limerick press release, she said there was a positive side to the study: loneliness is a risk factor that can be modified.
“There are different types and sources of loneliness that can affect cognitive symptoms across the dementia continuum,” Luchetti said. “Addressing loneliness by fostering a sense of connection could protect cognitive health later in life.”
More information:
Martina Luchetti et al, A meta-analysis of loneliness and dementia risk using longitudinal data from over 600,000 individuals, Natural mental health (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s44220-024-00328-9
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