ArticlePsychoneuroendocrinology2023
Sex differences in the mediating role of chronic inflammation on the association between social isolation and cognitive functioning among older adults in the United States.
Article in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- How loneliness and social isolation are linked to cognitive decline among older adults? A systematic review of underlying physiological and psychobehavioral mechanisms.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Pooled it
- Short- and Long-Term Effects of Social Isolation on Adult Murine Bone are Sex-Dependent.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Rethinking biological resilience of older adults under climate change: an integrative perspective from planetary health and cultural ethics.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Loneliness as a sex-specific risk factor for cognitive aging.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Review
- Social relationships and epigenetic markers of aging in middle-aged and older adults: cross-sectional and prospective analyses.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Article
- The relationship between social networks and subjective cognitive decline in Chinese younger older adults: the mediating effect of self-perception of aging.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Marital Status-Specific Associations Between Multidomain Leisure Activities and Cognitive Reserve in Clinically Unimpaired Older Adults: Based on a National Chinese Cohort.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Social isolation, loneliness, and their joint effects on cognitive decline and incident Alzheimer's disease: Findings from the Chicago health and aging project.The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2025Article
- Association of Gum Treatment with Cognitive Decline and Dementia Risk among Older Adults with Periodontal Symptoms: A 12-Year Prospective Cohort Study.Neuroepidemiology · 2025Article
- Biological Mechanisms Linking Social Adversity and Cognition.Public health reviews · 2025Review
- Editorial: International perspectives on older adult social isolation and loneliness.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Observational
- Female zebra finches are more vulnerable to social isolation stress than males: Involvement of the nonapeptide system.Zoological research · 2024Article
- Asthma and cognitive dysfunction in older adults: the mediating role of systemic immune-inflammation index.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Adult day services: a potential antidote to social isolation and loneliness in marginalized older adults.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Association between Loneliness and Memory Function through White Matter Hyperintensities in Older Adults: The Moderating Role of Gender.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Associations of social isolation and loneliness with the onset of insomnia symptoms among middle-aged and older adults in the United States: A population-based cohort study.Psychiatry research · 2023Article
- Relationship between Social Support, Sarcopenia, and Cognitive Impairment in Chinese Community-Dwelling Older Adults.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2023Article
- Social determinants of health, genetic biomarkers, and cognitive function in Chinese older adults with subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment: A cross-sectional analysis.Journal of Alzheimer's disease reportsArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPrevious research has reported the association between social isolation and cognitive impairment. However, biological mechanisms underlying this association are understudied. It is also unclear whether there are sex differences in these biological mechanisms.
objectivesTo examine whether chronic inflammation biomarkers are potential mediators of the association between social isolation and cognitive functioning among older men and women.
methodsData were the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002. A total of 2535 older adults aged 60 and older were included. Chronic inflammation was measured by C-reactive protein (CRP), plasma fibrinogen, and serum albumin. Cognitive functioning was assessed by the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Social isolation was defined using a 4-point composite index of items pertaining to the strength of social network and support. Linear regression models and formal mediation analysis were applied.
resultsSocial isolation was associated with lower DSST scores [β (SE) = -2.445 (1.180), p < 0.01 for men; β (SE) = -5.478 (1.167), p < 0.001 for women]. For older men, social isolation was associated with higher levels of CRP (β [SE] = 0.226 (0.110), p < 0.05) and fibrinogen (β [SE] = 0.058 (0.026), p < 0.05). In mediation analyses, among older men, CRP mediated 6.1% and fibrinogen mediated 12.0% of the association of social isolation with DSST.
conclusionSocial isolation was associated with poorer cognitive functioning partially via heightened inflammatory responses in older men. Defining these associations' mechanisms in sex-specific contexts could inform preventive and therapeutic strategies for cognitive impairment in older adults.
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