Having This Feeling Increases a Person's Risk of Memory Loss and Dementia

A U.K. study published in Journals of Gerontology found a connection between loneliness and the risk of developing dementia, reports the Daily Express . Researchers gathered data on more than 11,000 Britons older than 50, and analysis for the first time detected patterns linking loneliness to memory loss. Memory declined by up to 18 percent every two years in subjects most affected by social isolation, and the risk of dementia and suffering with loneliness impacted everyone no matter their gender, race, ethnicity, or education. Moreover, those who reported greater feelings of loneliness were more likely to develop dementia over the next decade. Individuals who feel lonely are likely to have several dementia factors, including diabetes, hypertension, and depression — and are less likely to be physically active and more likely to smoke. Furthermore, isolation was found to precede memory loss rather than vice-versa, as some medical experts had previously assumed. Men who experienced high levels of social isolation suffered subsequent memory decline between each phase and saw a decline of 18 percent over two years. "In some ways our findings are good news since improving older people's social contact as a way to prevent or slow memory decline is easier than if it were the other ways around," said Sanna Read at the London School of Economics and Political Science.