Loneliness Linked to Dementia
- Thread starter SeaBreeze
- Start date
SifuPhil
R.I.P. With Us In Spirit Only
- Location
- Pennsylvania, USA
That was the original study; the subsequent, and much more in-depth study, AMSTEL - LIGHT, determined that the lonliness could be almost completely eliminated by drinking copious amounts of cheap low-calorie beer. 
layful:
I don't know ... I have many online acquaintances so I don't know if I qualify, but real-world friends and family I have very few. In fact, beside my son who lives several states away, I have no family at all. Friends? Eh - depends. I have a few "people that I know", but I wouldn't call them "friends".
I love living alone, I love my solitude and peace and quiet. Yet I'm not showing any signs of dementia yet, beside my writing. I wonder if they aren't just confusing correlation with causation. Of course I've had a room-mate now for several months so I'm kind of cheating.
Or maybe I just need to follow that Amstel Light study a bit more closely ...
layful:I don't know ... I have many online acquaintances so I don't know if I qualify, but real-world friends and family I have very few. In fact, beside my son who lives several states away, I have no family at all. Friends? Eh - depends. I have a few "people that I know", but I wouldn't call them "friends".
I love living alone, I love my solitude and peace and quiet. Yet I'm not showing any signs of dementia yet, beside my writing. I wonder if they aren't just confusing correlation with causation. Of course I've had a room-mate now for several months so I'm kind of cheating.
Or maybe I just need to follow that Amstel Light study a bit more closely ...
Interesting, including the beerlayful:
My theory is "needy" equals "lonely-to-the-point-of-reaching-dementia". I have seen people who are needy souls, slowly lose it when they find themselves alone year after year after year.
I was single 14 years, after parting company with my son's father, and I was the happiest Pup on the Planet
Perish the thought I would find myself alone again, trust me I would not be lonely; I am not cut from that denier of cloth - lol lol lol
layful:My theory is "needy" equals "lonely-to-the-point-of-reaching-dementia". I have seen people who are needy souls, slowly lose it when they find themselves alone year after year after year.
I was single 14 years, after parting company with my son's father, and I was the happiest Pup on the Planet
Perish the thought I would find myself alone again, trust me I would not be lonely; I am not cut from that denier of cloth - lol lol lol
Ozarkgal
Senior Member
- Location
- Deep in the Ozark woods
A Dutch research team followed 2,173 participants in the Amsterdam Study of the Elderly (AMSTEL), a large ongoing investigation into mental disorders among older people. All the participants lived independently and were free of dementia when the study began. About 75% said they had no social support from family or friends, and 46% said they lived alone. Nearly 20% reported feeling lonely.
So actually slightly more than 434 people out of 2,173 reported feeling lonely. I wonder what the percentage of this in any age group is, and how much of their lives did they actually feel lonely?
After three years, people who said they were lonely were 64% more likely to develop dementia than those who didn’t. For people who lived alone or who were no longer married, the risk of dementia was between 70% and 80% of that experienced by people who were married or otherwise living with others.
This states that lonely people were 64% "more likely to develop dementia", it doesn't say they actually did. It also states that for people who lived alone or who were no longer married the "risk" of dementia was between 70-80%. Again, it doesn't state they actually developed dementia.
Writing in the online version of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, the research team said their results suggest it is “the perceived absence of social attachments that increases the risk of cognitive decline.”
"the research team said their results "suggest"....Nothing concrete here either.
Previous research has found that being socially active—participation in fraternal organizations, visiting family and friends, attending religious services, volunteering and involvement in sporting and recreational events—reduces dementia risk among older people by 70%.
While I agree it is probably best to stay as active as possible and have some social contact, in my mind this study as presented in the article does not show any actual evidence that being alone is a root cause of dementia. Also, it doesn't take any environmental causes or previous mental health conditions into consideration that the participants may have been exposed to earlier in life . Nowhere in the article did it state specifically that anyone actually developed dementia, it only alluded to it.
I believe that being "alone" is subjective, in that many people prefer to be alone or with limited social contact and do just fine. That is how they are happiest, as opposed to dealing with other's personalities and quirks.
I usually take published "studies" with a grain of salt. Yesterday I read a study that actually said overweight people(not obese)have a longer life expectancy that those of "normal" weight. Just about every time a study comes out, another one is published that refutes it.
Maybe I'm skeptical because I'm one that prefers limited contact with people on a daily basis, life is less complicated that way. I don't like to think the study pertains to me.Studies also show that having a pet increases life expectancy...Looks like I'm going to be around awhile
So actually slightly more than 434 people out of 2,173 reported feeling lonely. I wonder what the percentage of this in any age group is, and how much of their lives did they actually feel lonely?
After three years, people who said they were lonely were 64% more likely to develop dementia than those who didn’t. For people who lived alone or who were no longer married, the risk of dementia was between 70% and 80% of that experienced by people who were married or otherwise living with others.
This states that lonely people were 64% "more likely to develop dementia", it doesn't say they actually did. It also states that for people who lived alone or who were no longer married the "risk" of dementia was between 70-80%. Again, it doesn't state they actually developed dementia.
Writing in the online version of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, the research team said their results suggest it is “the perceived absence of social attachments that increases the risk of cognitive decline.”
"the research team said their results "suggest"....Nothing concrete here either.
Previous research has found that being socially active—participation in fraternal organizations, visiting family and friends, attending religious services, volunteering and involvement in sporting and recreational events—reduces dementia risk among older people by 70%.
While I agree it is probably best to stay as active as possible and have some social contact, in my mind this study as presented in the article does not show any actual evidence that being alone is a root cause of dementia. Also, it doesn't take any environmental causes or previous mental health conditions into consideration that the participants may have been exposed to earlier in life . Nowhere in the article did it state specifically that anyone actually developed dementia, it only alluded to it.
I believe that being "alone" is subjective, in that many people prefer to be alone or with limited social contact and do just fine. That is how they are happiest, as opposed to dealing with other's personalities and quirks.
I usually take published "studies" with a grain of salt. Yesterday I read a study that actually said overweight people(not obese)have a longer life expectancy that those of "normal" weight. Just about every time a study comes out, another one is published that refutes it.
Maybe I'm skeptical because I'm one that prefers limited contact with people on a daily basis, life is less complicated that way. I don't like to think the study pertains to me.
Studies also show that having a pet increases life expectancy...Looks like I'm going to be around awhileSifuPhil
R.I.P. With Us In Spirit Only
- Location
- Pennsylvania, USA
I just read about that overweight study - what a crock. They dance around and change terms more often than a manic-depressive square-dancer.
Journalists love sound-bites, and anything that portends guilt-free indulgence for the masses is something they just HAVE to print. Notice how very little is printed in the standard media about things such as honor and discipline? It's always self-indulgence and ways to justify your own lack of self-respect.
Journalists love sound-bites, and anything that portends guilt-free indulgence for the masses is something they just HAVE to print. Notice how very little is printed in the standard media about things such as honor and discipline? It's always self-indulgence and ways to justify your own lack of self-respect.
R. Zimm
Member
- Location
- SE Florida
A person can easily become more lonely in an assisted living environment if most of the others are too far gone to talk and the staff does not have time. Some of us need conversation and interaction more than others, too so that can be part of the depression - dementia situation.
If you are mobile you can always go to a public place like a library or museum and find events to attend where you will meet others with like interests. It is important to keep the brain active and I fear that too many seniors are just not that engaged these days. Present company excluded, of course!
If you are mobile you can always go to a public place like a library or museum and find events to attend where you will meet others with like interests. It is important to keep the brain active and I fear that too many seniors are just not that engaged these days. Present company excluded, of course!