The Loneliness of Dementia...Experience before the age of 17 also has a 41% risk of dementia in middle and old age ↑
Sep 15, 2025
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While reports continue that social isolation and loneliness are the main factors that increase the risk of each disease, studies have shown that loneliness experienced as a child also affects the development of dementia.
This is the result of a study by Dr. Guo Xuhua of China's Capital Medical University published in JAMA Network Open, an academic journal of the American Medical Association. It said it confirmed this association by tracking the relationship between loneliness experienced before the age of 17 and the risk of dementia and cognitive decline in old age.
The research team followed 13,592 participants in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) (average age of 58.3) for up to seven years to determine the relationship between loneliness experiences before the age of 17, mid- and old age cognitive decline and dementia risk. Before the age of 17, 565 (4.2%) who answered 'I often felt lonely' and 'I had no close friends' were classified into the 'Loneliness' group, and 6525 (48.0%), which was only one of the two, were classified into the 'Loneliness Possible' group.
As a result of the analysis, the loneliness group had a 41% higher risk of developing dementia in middle and old age than the group who did not experience loneliness.
In addition, the loneliness group and the loneliness-enabled group showed that the rate of cognitive decline in middle and old age was significantly accelerated by 0.02 to 0.03 SD (standard deviation) every year than the group that did not experience loneliness. The cognitive decline and increased risk of dementia in the loneliness group and the loneliness-enabled group were significant regardless of whether they were lonely in adulthood, and it was analyzed that loneliness in adulthood mediated only 8.5% and 17.2% of the effects of loneliness in childhood on cognitive decline and dementia risk.
The research team said the study shows that efforts to detect and prevent loneliness in childhood are urgent, and that expanding social contact opportunities, creating an environment for supporting schools and communities, and mental health services for youth loneliness can be effective strategies.
A meta-analysis on the risk of loneliness and dementia conducted by Martina Lucetti of Florida State University and others in the international journal Nature Mental Health found that loneliness is a major risk factor for dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and cognitive impairment regardless of age or gender. As a result of the study, loneliness increased the risk of developing dementia by 31% and the risk of cognitive impairment by 15%. It is analyzed that loneliness acted as a strong risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
