Summary: A new study finds that loneliness has a more negative impact on memory than social isolation in older adults. People who are both socially isolated and lonely experience the greatest memory decline, but loneliness alone also significantly impairs memory.
The study highlights the need for targeted community programs to address these issues. These findings underscore the importance of addressing loneliness to support cognitive health in aging populations.
Highlights:
- Greater impact: Loneliness has a greater negative impact on memory than social isolation.
- Duration of the study: The study involved middle-aged and older adults for six years.
- Community programs: Targeted interventions are needed for those who are both isolated and lonely.
Source: University of Waterloo
About a third of Canadians feel lonely, and a University of Waterloo study shows that feeling lonely has a greater negative impact on memory than social isolation, although both pose a significant risk to the aging population.
Loneliness is a subjective emotion that people can experience even when participating in social activities. It is often associated with depression and increased stress hormones that can contribute to memory problems.
Waterloo researchers studied four combinations of social isolation and loneliness and their effects on memory in middle-aged and older adults over a six-year period. These combinations included social isolation and loneliness, social isolation only, loneliness only, and neither.
“As we expected, people who were both socially isolated and lonely experienced the greatest memory decline, which intensified over the six years,” said Ji Won Kang, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate in Waterloo’s School of Public Health Sciences.
“But we were surprised to find that loneliness alone had the second greatest impact on memory, even though many studies report the dangers of social isolation without considering loneliness.”
Those who are not lonely but socially isolated can boost their mental abilities with solo activities, such as reading, playing games, and engaging in hobbies that improve memory and stimulate the brain, even if they are not participating in social activities.
Kang hopes the results of this research will highlight the need for community programs, particularly for the combined group of older adults who are both socially isolated and lonely, and therefore most at risk for memory problems.
“Older adults in the single category often have lower incomes than other groups and may have structural barriers and health issues that prevent them from connecting with their community,” she said.
“One solution could be to set up transportation or home visitation programs, to address societal problems that lead to greater isolation.”
The group that feels lonely is the next priority and requires a different approach.
“We need to know what’s causing their loneliness,” Kang said. “They may be socially connected and have close relationships, but for example, their marriage may be falling apart and they need therapy.”
The study was an interdisciplinary project between Waterloo’s School of Public Health Sciences and Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science.
About this research on solitude and memory
Author: Pamela Smyth
Source: University of Waterloo
Contact: Pamela Smyth – University of Waterloo
Picture: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Free access.
“Exploring the differential impacts of social isolation, loneliness and their combination on memory in an aging population: a 6-year longitudinal study of the CLSA” by Ji Won Kang et al. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics
Abstract
Investigating the differential impacts of social isolation, loneliness and their combination on memory in an aging population: a 6-year longitudinal study of the CLSA Study
Memory plays a crucial role in cognitive health. Social isolation (SI) and loneliness (LON) are recognized risk factors for global cognition, although their combined effects on memory have been poorly studied in the literature.
This study used three waves of data over six years from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging to examine whether IS and LON are individually and jointly associated with memory in middle-aged and older community-dwelling adults (not = 14,208).
The LON was assessed with the question: “During the past week, how often have you felt lonely?”
IS was measured using an index based on marital/cohabitation status, retirement status, participation in social activities, and contacts in social networks.
Memory was assessed with combined z scores from two administrations of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (immediate recall, delayed recall).
We conducted our analyses using all available data across all three time points and retained participants with missing covariate data. Linear mixed models were used to regress combined memory scores on SI and LON, adjusting for sociodemographic, health, functional ability, and lifestyle variables.
Having both SI and LON experience had the largest inverse effect on memory (least squares mean: -0.80 (95% confidence interval: -1.22, -0.39)), followed by LON alone (-0.73 (-1.13, -0.34)), then SI alone (-0.69 (-1.09, -0.29)), and finally by not being alone or isolated (-0.65 (-1.05, -0.25)). Sensitivity analyses confirmed this hierarchy of effects.
Policies designed to improve memory in middle-aged and older adults might yield greater benefits by targeting both SI and LON attenuation rather than either one individually.