Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37483321›Full record

ReviewJournal of Alzheimer's disease reports2023

The Impact of Loneliness and Social Isolation on Cognitive Aging: A Narrative Review.

Jade Guarnera, Eva Yuen, Helen Macpherson

Open access · diamondAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 82 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
82citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
30.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

82 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 109 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. How can social cognition be improved in neurological patients? a systematic review.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
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  17. Social connection and cognitive health: A review of concepts, measures, and research priorities.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
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22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jade GuarneraInstitute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia.
Eva YuenSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Helen MacphersonInstitute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia.
Deakin University · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Social concepts such as loneliness and social isolation are fairly new factors that have been recently gaining attention as to their involvement in changes in cognitive function and association with dementia. The primary aim of this narrative review was to describe the current understanding of how loneliness and social isolation influence cognitive aging and how they are linked to dementia. Studies have shown that there is an association between loneliness, social isolation, and reduced cognitive function, in older adults, across multiple cognitive domains, as well as a heightened risk of dementia. Numerous changes to underlying neural biomechanisms including cortisol secretion and brain volume alterations (e.g., white/grey matter, hippocampus) may contribute to these relationships. However, due to poor quality research, mixed and inconclusive findings, and issues accurately defining and measuring loneliness and social isolation, more consistent high-quality interventions are needed to determine whether studies addressing loneliness and social isolation can impact longer term risk of dementia. This is especially important given the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social isolation in older people is yet to be fully understood.

Indexed as

Agingalzheimer’s diseasecognitiondementialonelinesssocial isolation

Identifiers

PMID37483321
PMCPMC10357115
OpenAlexW4380991065

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.