Review of studies shows loneliness increases risk of dementia by more than 30 percent

New Delhi: Loneliness have a major risk factor that increases the risk dementia A review of 21 long-term studies involving more than six million participants worldwide found an increase of more than 30 percent regardless of age or gender. Loneliness, in which a person feels dissatisfied with their social relationships, was also associated with symptoms before the stage of dementia diagnosis, such as cognitive impairment Or decline.
Both conditions affect decision making, memory and thought processes. However, the symptoms of dementia can be severe enough to interfere with one’s daily functioning.
The psychological state of feeling isolated from society is now widely considered a risk factor for poor health, although studies have shown that loneliness may not directly cause disease.
“Dementia is a spectrum, with neuropathological changes that begin decades before clinical onset. It is important to continue studying the links of loneliness with various cognitive outcomes or symptoms across this spectrum,” said Dr., assistant professor at Florida State University And lead author Martina Luchetti said in the study published in the journal Nature Mental Health.
Aspects of psychological well-being such as a lack of purpose in life or feeling like there are fewer opportunities for personal growth were seen to decline significantly three to six years before the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. The results were published in August in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
This study found that loneliness increases the overall risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, by 30 percent. 39 percent, vascular dementia 73 percent and cognitive impairment 15 percent.
Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the accumulation of proteins in the brain, which is believed to cause cell death, while vascular dementia is caused by damage to the brain’s blood vessels.
Luchetti said the findings could help identify sources of loneliness to support the well-being and cognitive health of aging adults.
The authors acknowledged that the study largely included subjects from the Western world. He called for future research to look at data from other countries, including low-income countries, where cases of aging-related conditions are increasing.
“We know that the incidence of dementia is increasing in low-income countries,” Luchetti said. “Future studies will need to gather more data from those countries to evaluate what the effects of loneliness are in different national and cultural contexts,” Luchetti said. Needed.”