@article {9972, title = {Isolation, not loneliness or cynical hostility, predicts cognitive decline in older Americans.}, journal = {Journal of Aging and Health}, year = {2020}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: To jointly examine isolation, loneliness, and cynical hostility as risk factors for cognitive decline in older adults.

METHOD: Data came from the 2006 to 2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a longitudinal study of U.S. older adults (age ⩾ 65 years, n = 6,654). Measures included frequency of contact with social network (objective isolation), the Hughes Loneliness Scale (loneliness), a modified version of the Cook-Medley Hostility Inventory (cynical hostility), and a modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (cognitive function). Multilevel modeling (random slope + intercept) was used to examine the association between these factors and trajectories of cognitive function.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: After controlling for demographic characteristics, self-reported health, and functional limitations, loneliness (β = -.34, 95\% confidence interval [CI] = [-0.56, -0.11), and cynical hostility (β = -.14, 95\% CI = [-0.24, -0.04) correlated with lower cognitive function, but none predicted change in cognitive function. Objective social isolation was associated with lower cognitive function (β = -.27, 95\% CI = [-0.41, -0.12]) and steeper decline in cognitive function (β = -.09, 95\% CI = [-0.16, -0.01]).

}, keywords = {Cognition \& Reasoning, Depressive symptoms, Loneliness, Risk Factors}, issn = {1552-6887}, doi = {10.1177/0898264318800587}, author = {Sarah C. Griffin and Briana Mezuk and Williams, Allison Baylor and Paul B. Perrin and Bruce D. Rybarczyk} }