ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2025
Exploring the influence of loneliness on cognitive decline: differential effects in Black and White older adults.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- 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
- Associations of Social Support, Loneliness, and Physical Activity with Cognitive Function in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesLoneliness is prevalent among older adults, who may experience age-related or pathological cognitive changes. However, there's a limited understanding of how loneliness affects cognitive decline and if the relationship differs by race. This study investigates the impact of loneliness on cognitive decline among Black and White older adults.
methods3,082 participants with 20,882 follow-ups over 10 years were included from the RUSH RADC cohorts. Participants were categorized as having high or low loneliness based on a median split of de Jong-Gierveld Loneliness Scale scores. Participants were divided into four groups based on race (White vs. Black) and loneliness status (high vs. low): (1) White-high (n = 1,030), (2) White-low (n = 913), (3) Black-high (n = 493), (4) Black-low (n = 646). Linear mixed-effects models were employed to examine group differences in cognitive change over time (global cognition, episodic memory, semantic memory, perceptual speed, visuospatial ability, and working memory).
resultsWhite adults with high loneliness exhibited increased rates of cognitive decline across all domains (p < .01) compared to Black adults with high or low. Compared to White adults with low loneliness, White adults with high loneliness exhibited increased decline in all domains except perceptual speed and visuospatial ability (p < .001). Black adults with high loneliness exhibited increased decline compared to Black adults with low loneliness in all domains (p < .01). DISCUSSION: Loneliness is significantly associated with cognitive decline. Results of this study suggest that the loneliness-cognition relationship is stronger in White adults compared to Black older adults.
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Registered trials
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