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February 08, 2007
Study Finds Loneliness May Increase Alzheimer's Risk
Chicago, IL (AHN)-A new study published in the February issue of the Journal Archives of General Psychiatry finds that loneliness may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life.
For the study, researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago examined 823 participants, at an average age of 81, over a period of four years. Using a scale from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), researchers assessed the participants' level of loneliness at the start of the study and each subsequent year after over a period of 4 years. Participants were also screened for signs of dementia by testing a range of cognitive functions.
According to the study, the mean loneliness score at the start of the study was 2.3 on a scale of 1 to 5. Over the course of the study, seventy-six people developed Alzheimer's disease, with researchers determining that each point of increase on the loneliness score was associated with about a 51 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer's.
While, the actual physiological mechanism linking loneliness and Alzheimer's remains unclear, researchers found that people who described themselves as most lonely were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's as the ones who described themselves as least lonely.
But, the researchers' say that it is unlikely that Alzheimer's actually causes the loneliness, with the study authors writing, "In human beings, loneliness has been associated with impaired social skills. Thus, neural systems underlying social behavior might be less elaborated in lonely persons and, as a result, be less able to compensate for other neural systems compromised by age-related neuropathy."
Source: Julie Farby. Study Finds Loneliness May Increase Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease. allheadlinenews.com (6 Feb 2007) [FullText]
For the study, researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago examined 823 participants, at an average age of 81, over a period of four years. Using a scale from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), researchers assessed the participants' level of loneliness at the start of the study and each subsequent year after over a period of 4 years. Participants were also screened for signs of dementia by testing a range of cognitive functions.
According to the study, the mean loneliness score at the start of the study was 2.3 on a scale of 1 to 5. Over the course of the study, seventy-six people developed Alzheimer's disease, with researchers determining that each point of increase on the loneliness score was associated with about a 51 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer's.
While, the actual physiological mechanism linking loneliness and Alzheimer's remains unclear, researchers found that people who described themselves as most lonely were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's as the ones who described themselves as least lonely.
But, the researchers' say that it is unlikely that Alzheimer's actually causes the loneliness, with the study authors writing, "In human beings, loneliness has been associated with impaired social skills. Thus, neural systems underlying social behavior might be less elaborated in lonely persons and, as a result, be less able to compensate for other neural systems compromised by age-related neuropathy."
Source: Julie Farby. Study Finds Loneliness May Increase Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease. allheadlinenews.com (6 Feb 2007) [FullText]
Labels: Alzheimer's and lifestyle
posted by Dr.Koudinov @ 8.2.07
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