Loneliness Is Linked To Dementia

A study that was published by the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry has revealed that patients that felt lonely were more likely to experience dementia. This study concluded that loneliness is not based upon whether the individual lives alone or with other family members or friends. What matters, according to the study, is whether the elderly person has a good social support system that can lend support when its needed. Other studies seem to suggest that this is the case too. Some studies have found that loneliness alone can lead to a host of medical problem, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. On a side note, “[h]igh blood pressure is also a risk factor for dementia.” 

The Dutch study concluded that after all other factors, such as age, were eliminated, loneliness increased the risk for dementia by 64%. The study did not take into count about whether loneliness increased the risk to get a particular type of memory-deteriorating disease, such as Alzheimer’s. However, the author’s of study cautioned that people should conclude that loneliness causes Alzheimer’s. In fact, the author argued that the opposite could be true. The degenerate effects of Alzheimer’s Disease could cause people to withdraw from society, which could lead to loneliness in part because the sufferers of Alzheimer’s Disease might feel withdrawn or embarassed by the effects of their disease. It is also possible that loneliness leads “‘to a lack of sensory and cognitive stimulation,’ which can be harmful because it reduces levels of nerve growth factors that are necessary for brain health.” It is also possible that both things could be occurring at the same time creating a vicious cycle.

See Maia Szalavitz, Loneliness, Not Living Alone, Linked To Dementia, Time, Dec. 11, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.