Separating the Effects of Transitions Into and Out of Social Isolation and Loneliness on Cognitive Function in Later Life.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
; 79(7)2024 Jul 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38742600
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
This study investigates the effects of social isolation and loneliness on cognitive function, distinguishing between the effects of transitioning into and out of these states.METHODS:
This study analyzed data from 6,663 adults aged 65 or older collected over the course of 7 waves (12 years) of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging from 2006 to 2018. A novel asymmetric fixed effects model was utilized to separately estimate the effects of transitions into and out of social isolation or loneliness.RESULTS:
The association of transitions into social isolation due to a lack of informal social contact or loneliness with cognitive function (bâ =â -1.387, pâ <â .001 and bâ =â -0.601, pâ <â .001, respectively) was stronger than the association of transitions out of these states (bâ =â 0.345, pâ <â .05 and bâ =â 0.353, pâ <â .001, respectively). The magnitude of the negative and positive coefficients was statistically different (F-statisticâ =â 45.29, pâ <â .001 and F-statisticâ =â 5.12, pâ <â .05, respectively). In contrast, no such asymmetric effects were observed for social isolation due to a lack of formal activity (F-statisticâ =â 0.06, pâ =â .800).DISCUSSION:
The detrimental effects of transitioning into social isolation due to a lack of informal social contact (but not formal activity) or loneliness on cognitive function outweigh the beneficial effects of transitioning out of these states. Preventing the onset of social disconnection should be prioritized as an intervention to improve the cognitive function of older adults.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Isolamento Social
/
Cognição
/
Solidão
Limite:
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article