Dataset Information

Loneliness, Social Integration, and Incident Dementia Over 6 Years: Prospective Findings From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Social relationships are important for the maintenance of cognitive function at older ages, with both objective features of social networks and perceived social connections (loneliness) being relevant. There is limited evidence about how different aspects of social experience predict diagnosed dementia.

Methods

The sample comprised 6,677 dementia-free individuals at baseline (2004) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Baseline information on loneliness, number of close relationships, marital status, and social isolation (contact with family and friends and participation in organizations) was analyzed in relation to incident dementia over an average 6.25 years using Cox regression, controlling for potential confounding factors.

Results

Two hundred twenty participants developed dementia during follow-up. In multivariable analyses, dementia risk was positively related to greater loneliness (hazard ratio 1.40, 95% confidence interval 1.09-1.80, p = .008), and inversely associated with number of close relationships (p < .001) and being married (p = .018). Sensitivity analyses testing for reverse causality and different criteria for diagnosing dementia confirmed the robustness of these findings. There was no association with social isolation.

Discussion

Dementia risk is associated with loneliness and having fewer close relationships in later life. The underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated, but efforts to enhance older peoples' relationship quality may be relevant to dementia risk.

SUBMITTER: Rafnsson SB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6909434 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Loneliness, Social Integration, and Incident Dementia Over 6 Years: Prospective Findings From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Rafnsson Snorri Bjorn SB Orrell Martin M d'Orsi Eleonora E Hogervorst Eef E Steptoe Andrew A

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences 20200101 1

<h4>Objectives</h4>Social relationships are important for the maintenance of cognitive function at older ages, with both objective features of social networks and perceived social connections (loneliness) being relevant. There is limited evidence about how different aspects of social experience predict diagnosed dementia.<h4>Methods</h4>The sample comprised 6,677 dementia-free individuals at baseline (2004) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Baseline information on loneliness, number ...[more]

PMID: 28658937

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Project description:BACKGROUND:As the population ages, cognitive decline and dementia have become major health concerns in the UK. Loneliness has been linked to cognitive decline, but the reverse causality of this association remains unclear. This study aims to examine whether there is a bidirectional relationship between loneliness and cognitive function in older English adults (age 50?years and over) over a 10-year follow-up. METHODS:Data came from a nationally representative sample of 5885 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), free of stroke or dementia and followed every 2 years up to wave 7 (2014-15). At each wave, cognitive function was measured with word recall and verbal fluency tests, and loneliness was measured with the abridged version of the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. Bivariate dual change score models were used to assess the multivariate associations between loneliness and cognitive function, used interchangeably as exposures and outcomes. RESULTS:Greater loneliness at baseline was associated with poorer memory [? intercept = -0.03, standard error (SE) = 0.01, P? = ?0.016] and verbal fluency (? intercept = -0.01, SE? = ?001, P = ?0.027) at baseline, and with a stronger linear rate of decline in both memory (? linear slope = -0.07, SE? = ?001, P ???0.001) and verbal fluency (? linear slope = -0.09, SE? = ?0.03, P = ?0.003) over a 10-year follow-up period, although the performance on verbal fluency did not change substantially on average over this period. We also found that higher baseline memory, but not verbal fluency, predicted a slower change in loneliness (? linear slope = -0.01, SE? = ?001, P = ?0.004) and that a linear decline in memory was associated with an acceleration in loneliness (? quadratic slope = -0.02, SE? = ?001, P ???0.001) during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS:Higher loneliness is associated with poorer cognitive function at baseline and contributes to a worsening in memory and verbal fluency over a decade. These factors seem, however, to be partially intertwined, since baseline memory and its rate of decline also contribute to an increase in loneliness over time.

Dataset Information

Loneliness, Social Integration, and Incident Dementia Over 6 Years: Prospective Findings From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

Loneliness, Social Integration, and Incident Dementia Over 6 Years: Prospective Findings From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Similar Datasets

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