Feelings of loneliness and social isolation remain a major risk factor in the future development of dementia, according to a team of researchers.
- A new study finds that persistent loneliness increases the risk of developing dementia by 31% and the risk of experiencing cognitive decline by 15%.
- Carried out on more than 600,000 people, this research highlights the importance of social isolation as a risk factor for mental and cognitive health.
- But loneliness can be combatted by promoting social connections, which could protect the aging brain against dementia and cognitive impairment.
New evidence that social isolation can wreak havoc on cognition. A recent study, published in the journal Nature Mental Healthconfirms that persistent loneliness can indeed seriously affect the aging brain and significantly increase the risk of dementia, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Loneliness as a risk factor for dementia
To reach this conclusion, already formulated by previous research here and there, scientists from the University of Limerick, Ireland, compiled data on self-reported loneliness and neurological health of more than 600,000 people around the world. . They found that people suffering from loneliness were up to 31% more likely to develop some form of dementia. Likewise, the chances of suffering from cognitive decline increase by 15% among isolated people.
According to Dr Páraic Ó Súilleabháin, who participated in the work, these data highlight that loneliness, which in fact does not encourage one to use one’s cognitive functions, “is a major risk factor in the future development of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and, more generally, cognitive decline”can we read in a press release. These are worrying results when, according to studies, no less than five million French people suffer from a feeling of loneliness.
Encourage social connection to reduce cognitive decline
This study takes place in a context where loneliness is already recognized as a major public health problem. In 2023, United States Public Health Officer Dr. Vivek Murthy described loneliness and isolation as a real “epidemic” which affects many Americans. The negative effects on mental and physical health are well documented, but this new study reinforces the idea that loneliness can also seriously affect cognitive health.
There is nevertheless a glimmer of hope, because “loneliness is a risk factor that can be changed”explains Dr Martina Luchetti, lead author of the study. She insists that promoting social bonds and combating loneliness could protect individuals against dementia in old age. By encouraging social interactions and fighting against isolation, we could not only improve the quality of daily life of the most lonely, but also reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. So many reasons to extend a helping hand to those who need it.
