Loneliness: Greater Negative Impact on Memory Than Social Isolation?

The AHA! Team — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 08:21:45 +0000

University of Waterloo via News-Medical – About a third of Canadians feel lonely, and a study from the University of Waterloo shows it has a greater negative impact on memory than even social isolation, though both present a significant risk to the aging population. Loneliness is a subjective emotion that people might feel even while engaging in social activities. It is often associated with depression and an increase in stress hormones that may contribute to impaired memory. Waterloo researchers examined four combinations of social isolation and loneliness and their effect on memory in middle-aged and older adults over a six-year period. These combinations include being socially isolated and lonely, being only socially isolated, being only lonely and being neither. “As we expected, people who were both socially isolated and lonely had the greatest decline in memory, which intensified over the six years. But we were surprised to find that loneliness alone had the second-greatest impact on memory, even though so many studies report on the dangers of social isolation without considering loneliness.” Ji Won Kang, lead author on the paper and PhD candidate in the School of Public Health Sciences at Waterloo Those who aren’t lonely but are socially isolated may be stimulating their mental capacity with solo activities, such as reading, playing games and engaging in hobbies that improve memory and stimulate the brain, despite not engaging in social activities. Loneliness alone had the second-greatest impact on memory Kang hopes the findings of this research will highlight the need for community programs, especially for the combined group of older adults who are both socially isolated and lonely, and therefore at the highest risk of memory impairment. “Older adults in the lonely category often have lower incomes than the other groups and may have structural barriers and health conditions preventing them from connecting to their communities,” she said. “A solution could be to implement transportation or home-visit programs-; something to address the societal issues that lead to them being more isolated.” The group who is just lonely is the next priority, requiring a different approach. “We would need to know what is causing their loneliness,” Kang said. “They may be connected socially and have close relationships, but for example, maybe their marriage is falling apart and they would benefit from counselling.” The study was an interdisciplinary project between the School of Public Health Sciences and the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at Waterloo. Exploring the differential impacts of social isolation, loneliness, and their combination on the memory of an aging population: A 6-year longitudinal study of the CLSA appears in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. Source: University of Waterloo Journal reference: Kang, J. W., et al. (2024). Exploring the Differential Impacts of Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Their Combination on the Memory of Aging Population: A 6-Year Longitudinal Study by the CLSA. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2024.105483. To read the original article click here.

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Being Physically Active Can Lower Older Adults’ Risk for Dying

AHA Publisher — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 08:00:26 +0000

American Geriatrics Society via EurekAlert – For older adults, being physically active is an important part of overall good health. In fact, experts say that nine percent of all premature deaths are caused by not getting enough physical activity. Physical activity is known to reduce deaths from heart disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease, and mental illness. A team of researchers looked more carefully at the relationship between death and physical exercise among older adults in Brazil (where the number of older adults grew 40 percent between 2002 and 2012). Their study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. They drew on information from the “COMO VAI?” (Consórcio de Mestrado Orientado para a Valorização da Atenção ao Idoso) study. During the study, from January to August 2014, researchers conducted home interviews with 1,451 adults older than 60. Of these, 971 participants were given wrist monitors to measure their physical activity. Researchers also asked participants about their smoking habits and how they would rate their health. Additionally, researchers learned about the chronic health conditions participants said they had, including high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, Parkinson’s disease, kidney failure, high cholesterol, depression, stroke, and cancer. The researchers then rated participants’ ability to perform their normal daily activities, including bathing, dressing, getting from bed to chair, going to the bathroom, and feeding. Not surprisingly, the researchers learned that people who had the lowest levels of physical activity had higher rates of death compared to people who had higher levels of activity. The researchers concluded that their main findings suggest that low levels of physical activity are associated with higher risks of death, no matter what a person’s level of health was. Overall, physical activity was important for avoiding early death in older men and women. To read the original article click here.

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Loneliness: Greater Negative Impact on Memory Than Social Isolation?

Being Physically Active Can Lower Older Adults’ Risk for Dying