Loneliness and cognitive function in the older adult: a systematic review
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Loneliness is a significant concern among the elderly, particularly in societies with rapid growth in aging populations. Loneliness may influence cognitive function, but the exact nature of the association between loneliness and cognitive function is poorly understood. The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize current findings on the association between loneliness and cognitive function in older adults. METHOD: A comprehensive, electronic review of the literature was performed. Criteria for inclusion were original quantitative or qualitative research, report written in English, human participants with a mean age ≥ 60 years, and published from January 2000 through July 2013. The total number of studies included in this systematic review was ten. RESULTS: Main findings from the ten studies largely indicate that loneliness is significantly and negatively correlated with cognitive function, specifically in domains of global cognitive function or general cognitive ability, intelligence quotient (IQ), processing speed, immediate recall, and delayed recall. However, some initial correlations were not significant after controlling for a wide range of demographic and psychosocial risk factors thought to influence loneliness. CONCLUSIONS: Greater loneliness is associated with lower cognitive function. Although preliminary evidence is promising, additional studies are necessary to determine the causality and biological mechanisms underlying the relationship between loneliness and cognitive function. Findings should be verified in culturally diverse populations in different ages and settings using biobehavioral approaches.
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Previous reviews report equivocal findings regarding the association between aspects of social connections and cognitive function from both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.
“Each of these reviews reports equivocal findings regarding the association between aspects of social connections and cognitive function from both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.”
From Social Isolation and Cognitive Function in Later Life: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2019) · cites this paper as [53]
Loneliness is associated with reduced cognitive function.
“Loneliness has also been shown to be associated with a wide range of physical and mental health outcomes, such as reduced cognitive function [23], depression [24–26], and mortality [3].”
Loneliness is associated with the incidence of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
“with two included longitudinal studies showing an association between loneliness and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease and dementia 57, 58 .”
From An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness (2017) · cites this paper as [57]
Loneliness and low social participation are associated with an increased risk of dementia.
“Two systematic reviews identified that loneliness and low social participation were associated with an increased risk of dementia”
From An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness (2017) · cites this paper as [57]
The overview found an association (+) between loneliness and dementia, supported by one review or multiple lower quality reviews.
“| Dementia (Boss et al 2015, Kuiper et al 2015*) | | + | |”
From An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness (2017) · cites this paper as Boss et al 2015
Our findings are in line with previous studies showing a detrimental effect of loneliness on subsequent cognitive decline or dementia.
“Our findings are in line with previous studies showing a detrimental effect of loneliness on subsequent cognitive decline or dementia (Boss et al., 2015;Cacioppo and Hawkley, 2009;Gow and Mortensen, 2016;Kuiper et al., 2015;Kuiper et al., 2016;Rozzini et al., 2008;Shankar et al., 2013;Tilvis et al., 2004;Wang et al., 2011;Zhong et al., 2016;Zhong et al., 2017).”
From Does loneliness contribute to mild cognitive impairment and dementia? A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies (2019) · cites this paper as Boss et al., 2015
Boss et al. (2015) systematic review concluded that greater loneliness was associated with poorer global cognition and declines in specific cognitive domains including processing speed, immediate recall, and delayed recall.
“Boss and colleagues (2015) conducted a systematic review on loneliness and cognitive function in the ageing population and concluded that greater loneliness was associated with poorer global cognition and declines in specific cognitive domains including processing speed, immediate recall, and delayed recall.”
From Does loneliness contribute to mild cognitive impairment and dementia? A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies (2019) · cites this paper as Boss et al., 2015
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- Authors
- Boss, L., Kang, D.-H., & Branson, S.
- Affiliations
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (US)
- Corresponding author
- Boss, Lisa
- ORCID
- Branson, Sandy
- Venue
- International Psychogeriatrics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-04
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 541-553
- ISSN
- 1041-6102 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2120113719
- Cited by
- 513
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 56 · 2024: 57 · 2023: 94 · 2022: 73 · 2021: 67 · 2020: 49 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 5
- FWCI
- 3.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Psychogeriatrics (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- loneliness, cognitive function, older adults, aging, processing speed, memory retrieval, intelligence quotient, psychosocial risk factors, biological mechanisms
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Cognition, Cognition Disorders, Humans, Loneliness, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests
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