This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

47/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 47 out of 100. Risk factors

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

At baseline, participants were aged 70-95 years (mean: 75.2 ± 4.3), with 54% being women. Overall, 81.1% of men and 71.7% of women reported never feeling lonely at baseline, while transient, incident, and persistent loneliness were experienced by 4.9%, 8.4%, and 5.5% of men and 8.5%, 11.6%, and 8.3% of women, respectively. Over a median 8-year follow-up, incident loneliness in men (HR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.08-2.13) and persistent loneliness in women (HR: 2.14, 95% CI: 1.55-2.97) were associated with a greater dementia risk, compared to those who were never lonely. No increased risk was observed for transient loneliness. Despite the remarkably low prevalence of social isolation and poor social support in this initially healthy cohort, both were associated with cognitive decline (secondary outcome) but not with dementia risk. Persistent loneliness in people aged 70+, especially in women, was associated with a higher risk of dementia and cognitive decline.

Key findings

At baseline, participants were aged 70-95 years (mean: 75.2 ± 4.3), with 54% being women.
Overall, 81.1% of men and 71.7% of women reported never feeling lonely at baseline, while transient, incident, and persistent loneliness were experienced by 4.9%, 8.4%, and 5.5% of men and 8.5%, 11.6%, and 8.3% of women, respectively.
Over a median 8-year follow-up, incident loneliness in men (HR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.08-2.13) and persistent loneliness in women (HR: 2.14, 95% CI: 1.55-2.97) were associated with a greater dementia risk, compared to those who were never lonely.
No increased risk was observed for transient loneliness.
Despite the remarkably low prevalence of social isolation and poor social support in this initially healthy cohort, both were associated with cognitive decline (secondary outcome) but not with dementia risk.

Why it matters

In this study of adults aged 70 to 95 followed for a median of 8 years, incident loneliness in men and persistent loneliness in women were associated with higher dementia risk, while transient loneliness was not. Social isolation and poor social support were associated with cognitive decline but not with dementia risk, so the findings point to loneliness as a possible risk marker rather than a proven target for preventing or curing Alzheimer's disease.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Risk factors, ranked →

Study details

Effect size81.1%; 71.7%; 4.9%
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 47/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 190 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	0 / 12	No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	4 / 5	2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	0 / 4	Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	2 / 7	Cited 13 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	4.3 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 8.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	1 / 6	Cited by 1 other studies in this library
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 13 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Rosanne Freak‐Poli: h-index 38 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Monash University: institution h-index 1,146 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 3 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40044457)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	47 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

APA 7th

Htun, H. L., Teshale, A. B., Sun, H., Ryan, J. L., Owen, A. J., Woods, R. L., et al. (2025). Changes in Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Social Support: A Gender‐Disaggregated Analysis of Their Associations With Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.70065

Vancouver

Htun HL, Teshale AB, Sun H, Ryan JL, Owen AJ, Woods RL, et al. Changes in Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Social Support: A Gender‐Disaggregated Analysis of Their Associations With Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2025. doi:10.1002/gps.70065. PMID: 40044457.

BibTeX

@article{htun2025-40044457,
  author  = {Htun, Htet Lin and Teshale, Achamyeleh Birhanu and Sun, Haoxiong and Ryan, Joanne L. and Owen, Alice J. and Woods, Robyn L. and Shah, Raj C. and Chong, Trevor T.‐J. and others},
  title   = {{Changes in Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Social Support: A Gender‐Disaggregated Analysis of Their Associations With Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults}},
  journal = {International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.1002/gps.70065},
  pmid    = {40044457},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.70065}
}

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.

Later studies that cite this one

1 study in the alzhub library lists this one in its references.

Related studies in Risk factors

Also tagged “biobank”

1,084 studies in the library carry the topic tag “biobank”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,084 tagged studies.

Similar studies

More on Risk factors

See all studies in Risk factors →