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Perceived social isolation is correlated with brain structure and cognitive trajectory in Alzheimer's disease
Ye Zhang, Yasuko Tatewaki, Yingxu Liu, Naoki Tomita, Tatsuo Nagasaka, Michiho Muranaka, Shuzo Yamamoto, Yumi Takano et al.. GeroScience, 2022-05-08
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Both objective and perceived social isolations were associated with future cognitive decline and increase risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the impacts of perceived social isolation depending on different clinical stages of AD have not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of perceived social isolation or loneliness on brain structure and future cognitive trajectories in patients who are living with or are at risk for AD. A total of 176 elderly patients (mean age of 78 years) who had complaint of memory problems (39 subjective cognitive decline [SCD], 53 mild cognitive impairment [MCI], 84 AD) underwent structural MRI and neuropsychological testing. Loneliness was measured by one binary item question "Do you often feel lonely?." Voxel-based morphometry was conducted to evaluate regional gray matter volume (rGMV) difference associated with loneliness in each group. To evaluate individual differences in cognitive trajectories based on loneliness, subgroup analysis was performed in 51 patients with AD (n = 23) and pre-dementia status (SCD-MCI, n = 28) using the longitudinal scores of Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive component-Japanese version (ADAS-Jcog). Whole brain VBM analysis comparing lonely to non-lonely patients revealed loneliness was associated with decreased rGMV in bilateral thalamus in SCD patients and in the left middle occipital gyrus and the cerebellar vermal lobules I - V in MCI patients. Annual change of ADAS-Jcog in patients who reported loneliness was significantly greater comparing to these non-lonely in SCD-MCI group, but not in AD group. Our results indicate that perceived social isolation, or loneliness, might be a comorbid symptom of patients with SCD or MCI, which makes them more vulnerable to the neuropathology of future AD progression.
Key findings
- Both objective and perceived social isolations were associated with future cognitive decline and increase risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
- Loneliness was measured by one binary item question "Do you often feel lonely?." Voxel-based morphometry was conducted to evaluate regional gray matter volume (rGMV) difference associated with loneliness in each group.
- Whole brain VBM analysis comparing lonely to non-lonely patients revealed loneliness was associated with decreased rGMV in bilateral thalamus in SCD patients and in the left middle occipital gyrus and the cerebellar vermal lobules I - V in MCI patients.
- Annual change of ADAS-Jcog in patients who reported loneliness was significantly greater comparing to these non-lonely in SCD-MCI group, but not in AD group.
- Our results indicate that perceived social isolation, or loneliness, might be a comorbid symptom of patients with SCD or MCI, which makes them more vulnerable to the neuropathology of future AD progression.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants23
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 64/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 36 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 64 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (GeroScience) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| 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 | 3 / 5 | 2022 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 23 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 35526259) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 36 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 36 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 64 out of 100. |
| Total | 64 / 100 | — |
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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
Zhang, Y., Tatewaki, Y., Liu, Y., Tomita, N., Nagasaka, T., Muranaka, M., et al. (2022). Perceived social isolation is correlated with brain structure and cognitive trajectory in Alzheimer's disease. GeroScience. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-022-00584-6
Vancouver
Zhang Y, Tatewaki Y, Liu Y, Tomita N, Nagasaka T, Muranaka M, et al. Perceived social isolation is correlated with brain structure and cognitive trajectory in Alzheimer's disease. GeroScience. 2022. doi:10.1007/s11357-022-00584-6. PMID: 35526259.
BibTeX
@article{zhang2022-35526259,
author = {Zhang, Ye and Tatewaki, Yasuko and Liu, Yingxu and Tomita, Naoki and Nagasaka, Tatsuo and Muranaka, Michiho and Yamamoto, Shuzo and Takano, Yumi and others},
title = {{Perceived social isolation is correlated with brain structure and cognitive trajectory in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {GeroScience},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1007/s11357-022-00584-6},
pmid = {35526259},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-022-00584-6}
}
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