Model links loneliness prevention to slower cognitive decline

In an observational analysis of 34,774 people aged 50–80 years, researchers used Health and Retirement Study data from 1996–2018 to model loneliness prevention. They simulated an intervention rather than testing one in participants. They examined links with cognitive decline, or worsening thinking abilities, and assessed depression as a possible pathway.

The model linked preventing loneliness to less cognitive decline at every age studied, with larger estimated differences at older ages. Averaged across ages, the estimated difference was 0.075 points across the population and 0.157 points among people experiencing loneliness. A further analysis linked 17.3% of the modelled effect to depression, with proportions of 19.4% among men and 16.9% among women.