One in four older adults experience social isolation, and a recent study from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests these individuals are at a greater risk of developing dementia.
Social isolation among adults over age 65 is associated with an increased risk of dementia, according to a study published by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The study used data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study to examine the connection between social isolation and incident dementia in a nationally representative sample of 5,022 Medicare beneficiaries in the United States.
Researchers found that:
- Of the total number of older adults, 23.3 percent were classified as socially isolated.
- By the end of the follow-up period, which averaged five years, 21.1 percent of adults developed dementia.
- Adults who experienced social isolation were more likely to develop dementia (25.9 percent) compared to those who weren’t socially isolated (19.6 percent).
- There was no observed difference in social isolation associated with dementia by race or ethnicity.
Several underlying factors are associated with social isolation and dementia, according to the research team, including a connection between social isolation and physical and mental health risk factors for dementia, such as hypertension, heart disease, and depression; reduced cognitive activity due to reduced social engagement; and limited social resources such as social support and health care access that influence health outcomes.
“Social isolation for decades has been understood as an issue that impacts the wellbeing of individuals across the life course, influencing risk for cardiovascular disease, mental health, and cognition,” wrote researchers. “More recently, with the COVID-19 pandemic and investigations that have directly examined the health implications of social isolation, practitioners and policymakers are increasingly understanding the burdensome nature of this problem.”
Increased screening of social isolation in clinical settings could help address the poor health outcomes associated with it, noted the research team, who also urged for continued progress in the research of the association between social isolation and dementia, particularly in different racial and ethnic groups.