LONELINESS MAY
INCREASE ALZHEIMER'S
RISK

Courtesy:  Alzheimer's Association - N. Nevada/N. California Chapter

Lonely individuals may be twice as likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease as those who are not lonely, according to a new study by Rush University Medical Center Alzheimer's Disease Center.

Researchers studied the effects of emotional isolation, or loneliness, on cognitive decline and risk dementia.  "Social isolation" is characterized by things such as a small social network, being unmarried and participating in few activities with others.  It has been linked to an increased risk for dementia.  This study, in contrast, looked at emotional isolation, or loneliness, which refers to perceived social isolation and feeling disconnected from others.

Here, loneliness was measured on a scale of one to five, with higher scores indicating more loneliness.  Risk for developing dementia increased approximately 51 percent for each point on the loneliness score, so that a person with a high loneliness score (3.2) had about 2.1 times the risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease than a person with a low score (1.4).

It is best not to look at these findings in isolation.  There are multiple risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia as we age, one of which may be loneliness.  That said, this research--which was quite rigorously performed in a fairly large population--encourages us to look more closely at the relationship between loneliness and dementia.