Negative social interactions and risk of mild cognitive impairment in old age.

Abstract

Objective To test the hypothesis that negative social interaction in old age is associated with increased risk of mild cognitive impairment and rate of cognitive decline. Methods Participants are 529 older people without cognitive impairment at study onset. They completed annual evaluations that included assessment of negative social interaction frequency in the previous month (e.g., unsympathetic behavior, rejection), cognitive testing, and clinical classification of mild cognitive impairment. Results During a mean of 4.8 years of follow-up (SD=2.5), 198 individuals (37.4%) developed mild cognitive impairment. In a proportional hazards model adjusted for age, sex, and education, higher baseline frequency of negative social interactions (mean=1.51, SD=0.43, skewness=1.60) was associated with higher risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (hazard ratio =1.53, 95% confidence interval: 1.13, 2.07). Results were similar after adjustment for depressive symptoms, social network size, social activity level, and loneliness. This association was mainly due to neglect and rejection. There was no change in negative social interaction rate over time (estimate =− 0.003, SE=0.004, p=0.508). Higher baseline level of negative social interaction was associated with lower initial level of global cognition (estimate=− 0.096, SE=0.034, p=0.005) but not with cognitive decline (estimate= − 0.018, SE=0.011, p=0.098). Higher mean level of negative interactions across the study period was robustly related to lower level of global cognition (estimate =− 0.154, SE=0.037, p<0.001) and faster rate of cognitive decline (estimate =− 0.036, SE=0.012, p=0.002). Conclusion Frequent negative social interactions may be a risk factor for mild cognitive impairment and cognitive decline in old age.

Prevalence and factors associated with mild cognitive impairment on screening in older Malaysians

“…This was consistent with previous study findings (32,33). It was suggested that people who felt lonely were more vulnerable to some dangerous age-related neuropathological effects, because of their compromised neural system about memory and cognition which were deepened by loneliness (33). Furthermore, the mean age of the study population was 68.8 years old; and most of them (76.1%) were not working, and they had to stay at home while their children went out to work.…”

“…Those who were feeling lonely were 1.2 times greater odds to have MCI compared to their counterparts. This was consistent with previous study findings (32,33). It was suggested that people who felt lonely were more vulnerable to some dangerous age-related neuropathological effects, because of their compromised neural system about memory and cognition which were deepened by loneliness (33).…”

Association of Higher Cortical Amyloid Burden With Loneliness in Cognitively Normal Older Adults

“…11,16,46–48 Social disengagement, manifesting as low numbers of social ties, contacts, and group activities, has been associated with cognitive decline in population-based studies of older people, even in those individuals with relatively high baseline cognitive and functional status. 46,47 Many studies have also found independent effects on long-term cognition for more qualitative social and socioemotional constructs such as emotional support, 47 negative social interactions, 49 and loneliness. 6,9 Within this body of work, loneliness has been viewed as a marker of psychosocial stress, closely related to depression, 50 bereavement, 15 and other experiences of social disconnection, 51,52 with downstream effects on neural networks and systemic health, mediated by stress-related 53–55 and inflammatory processes.…”

Relações sociais, cognição na doença de Alzheimer: revisão sistemática

“…Pesquisas (Fankhauser et al, 2015;Wilson et al, 2015) & Nilsson, 2015). No entanto, as relações sociais e a rede social são variáveis complexas, quando se considera a influência delas na proteção potencial contra a doença de Alzheimer e outros tipos de demência.…”

“…Além disso, os sintomas depressivos e engajamento social têm sido associados com risco de comprometimento cognitivo leve (CCL) e relacionados com pontuação negativa de interação social (Wilson et al, 2015). Nesse mesmo estudo detectou-se que as interações sociais negativas crônicas podem ser um fator de Clarke et al (2015) utilizaram dados do Chicago Health and Aging Project, um estudo longitudinal e prospectivo o qual examinaram o papel dos fatores individuais e de vizinhança na trajetória da função cognitiva em idosos.…”