Two new studies add to the evidence that social isolation is a substantial risk factor for dementia in community-dwelling older adults, new research shows.
The research also identifies technology as an effective way to intervene.
In the United States, an estimated one in four people over age 65 experience social isolation, according to the National Institute on Aging.
At the initial interview, 23 percent of the 5,022 participants were socially isolated and showed no signs of dementia. However, by the end of this nine-year study, 21 percent of the total sample of participants had developed dementia. The researchers concluded that the risk of developing dementia over nine years was 27 percent higher among socially isolated older adults compared to older adults who were not socially isolated.
Researchers for the second study used data from participants in the same National Health and Aging Trends study, and found that more than 70 percent of people age 65 and up who were not socially isolated at their initial appointment had a working cell phone and/or computer, and regularly used email or texting to initiate and respond to others.
Over the four-year research period for this second study, older adults who had access to such technology consistently showed a 31 percent lower risk for social isolation than the rest of the cohort.
“Basic communications technology is a great tool to combat social isolation,” says Mfon Umoh, a postdoctoral fellow in geriatric medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “This study shows that access and use of simple technologies are important factors that protect older adults against social isolation, which is associated with significant health risks. This is encouraging because it means simple interventions may be meaningful.”
Funding for the studies came from the Caryl & George Bernstein Human Aging Project, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Innovative Medicine, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, the National Institute on Aging, the Secunda Family Foundation, the Patient-Centered Care for Older Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions, and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.