People who feel lonely seem to face an increased risk of developing dementia in later life, researchers reported today.
The Dutch researchers reported their findings as a major European project into Alzheimer’s disease was launched.
The "lonely" seem to face a doubled risk of developing dementia, according to the research published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
The study of some 2,000 elderly people found that it was feelings of loneliness – rather than simply living alone or having a broken relationship – that were linked with the greatest increased risk of the problem.
Researcher Dr Tjalling Jan Holwerda, a psychiatrist at the Free University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, said the strong feelings of loneliness might be an early sign of dementia – or might create a risk.
He writes: "Interestingly, the fact that ‘feeling lonely’ rather than ‘being alone’ was associated with dementia onset suggests that it is not the objective situation, but, rather, the perceived absence of social attachments that increases the risk of cognitive decline."
The European Union is to pump some 25 million Euros into research into neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, it was announced yesterday.
Professor Philippe Amouyel, who chairs the EU board in charge of the programme, said: "The incidence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s is exploding due to aging populations, which are creating huge social, economic and healthcare impacts across the world."
Feelings of loneliness, but not social isolation, predict dementia onset: results from the Amsterdam Study of the Elderly (AMSTEL) Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry December 11 2012; doi 10.1136/jnnp-2012-302755
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