ArticleThe Gerontologist2024
"Relationships, Very Quickly, Turn to Nothing": Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Adaptation to Changing Social Lives Among Persons Living With Dementia and Care Partners.
Article in The Gerontologist, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Loneliness as an Interface Between Alzheimer's Disease and Suicidal Behaviour: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis and Meta-Analytic Factor Analysis.Psychogeriatrics : the official journal of the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society · 2026Pooled it
- Exploring the experiences and needs in everyday life of spouse carers of persons with dementia.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- Daily closeness discrepancies and marital interaction quality in the context of chronic pain: mediating effect of loneliness.The Gerontologist · 2026Article
- A Feasibility Study of a Community-Based Program for Individuals Living With Dementia.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapie · 2026Article
- Anticipatory grief among caregivers of people living with dementia: A scoping review.Palliative & supportive care · 2026Article
- Exploring Loneliness in Family Caregiver-Care Recipient Dyads: Implications for Caregiver Burden.Geriatrics & gerontology international · 2026Article
- Trajectories of Social Activity Engagement and Physical and Cognitive Function During the Last Years of Life.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026Article
- The Impact of Dementia Caregiving on the Health of the Spousal Caregiver.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Review
- Caregiver support in aging societies: a qualitative metasynthesis informing public health policy.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Association of diabetes, hypertension and obesity with cognitive impairment in adults.Dementia & neuropsychologia · 2026Article
- What needs to be addressed in caring for people living with dementia? A multi-faceted evidence on financial, psychological, and physical health issues in dementia care.Frontiers in dementia · 2026Article
- Friendship and momentary loneliness in dementia caregiving: daily experiences of caregivers with high and low burden.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Article
- Together, but Isolated: A Dyadic Study of Social Isolation in Older Adults and Caregivers.Journal of aging and health · 2025Article
- Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Cognitive Health.Clinics in geriatric medicine · 2025Review
- The Epidemiology of Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Family and Unpaid Caregivers of Older Adults: Findings From the National Study of Caregiving.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Article
- "By the Time We Knew …": Poetic Analysis of End-of-Life Caregiving Experiences for Rapidly Progressive and Slower-Duration Dementia Syndromes.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2025Article
- Psychosocial distress among spouses of persons with dementia before and after their partner's death.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2024Article
- Social Isolation and Healthcare Utilization in Older Adults Living With Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment in the United States.Innovation in aging · 2024Article
- Social worlds of Appalachian women caregivers of older relatives living with dementia.Frontiers in global women's health · 2024Article
- Music and dementia care: Future directions for research and innovation.Journal of Alzheimer's disease reportsReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesPersons with dementia and their care partners have known risks for loneliness and social isolation throughout the disease trajectory, yet little is described about social lives in a population heterogeneous for disease stage, syndrome type, and setting. RESEARCH DESIGN AND
methodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative interviews from multiple studies to triangulate responses from a cohort of persons with dementia (n = 24), and active (n = 33) or bereaved (n = 15) care partners diverse in setting, dementia type and stage, and life experience. Interviews explored challenges related to social lives and were analyzed thematically.
resultsPersons with dementia were on average 80 years old (range: 67-94), 38% female, and 78% diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia; care partners were on average 67 years old (range: 40-87) and 69% female. We identified 3 primary themes. First, dyads lost external social networks due to complex factors, including discomfort of surrounding social networks, caregiving responsibilities, and progressive cognitive deficits. Second, care partners described disruptions of meaningful dyadic relationships due to progressive cognitive and functional deficits, leading to loneliness and anticipatory grief. Third, adaptive strategies centered on care partners facilitating shared social activities and programs addressing caregiver burden. An overarching theme of disease-course accumulation of barriers to social interactions and constant adaptations was present in all themes. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Isolation and loneliness are a shared experience and source of distress for persons with dementia and care partners. Results can inform interventions tailored to individual needs and disease stages of dyads that enhance social connectedness.
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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.