Cited by 111Health disparities and outcomesDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchAging and Gerontology Research

Structural brain correlates of loneliness among older adults

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Düzel, Sandra, Drewelies, Johanna, Gerstorf, Denis, Demuth, Ilja, Steinhagen-Thiessen, Elisabeth, Lindenberger, Ulman, Kühn, Simone·2019·Scientific Reports

Abstract

Ample evidence indicates that loneliness in old age is associated with poor bodily and mental health. However, little is known about structural cerebral correlates of loneliness in healthy older adults. We examined such correlates in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) subsample of 319 older adults aged 61 to 82 years drawn from the Berlin Aging Study II. Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and structural equation modeling (SEM), latent hierarchical regression analyses were performed to examine associations of (i) loneliness, (ii) a range of covariates, and (iii) loneliness by covariate interactions with latent brain volume estimates of brain structures known to be involved in processing, expressing, and regulating emotions. Results from whole-brain VBM analyses showed that individuals with higher loneliness scores tended to have smaller gray matter volumes in three clusters comprising (i) the left amygdala/anterior hippocampus, (ii) the left posterior parahippocampus and (iii) the left cerebellum. Significant associations and interactions between loneliness and latent factors for the amygdala and the hippocampus were confirmed with a region-of-interest (ROI)-based approach. These findings suggest that individual differences in loneliness among older adults are correlated with individual differences in the volumes of brain regions that are central to cognitive processing and emotional regulation, also after correcting for confounders such as social network size. We discuss possible mechanisms underlying these associations and their implications.

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Authors
Düzel, S., Drewelies, J., Gerstorf, D., Demuth, I., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E., Lindenberger, U., & Kühn, S.
Affiliations
  • Max Planck Institute for Human Development (DE)
  • Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE)
  • University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
Corresponding author
Düzel, Sandra
Venue
Scientific Reports
Published
2019-09-19
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
13569-13569
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2974655760
Cited by
111
References
81
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 7
FWCI
11.22
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (16SV5537/16SV5837/16SV5538/16SV5536K/01UW0808/01UW0706)
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, older adults, gray matter volume, amygdala, hippocampus, cerebellum, emotion regulation, brain structure, social network size, aging
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Amygdala, Brain Mapping, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Loneliness, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Multivariate Analysis, Gray Matter

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