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Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Cognitive Health
Mfon E Umoh. Clinics in geriatric medicine, 2025-05-27
Topic: Health services, long-term care and technology
Social connectedness is important for maintaining cognitive function and cognitive health in older age. In particular, social isolation (the objective lack of relationships) and loneliness (the subjective perception of lacking social connection) among older adults are important public health challenges that have been linked to increased cognitive decline and dementia risk in many studies. In this review, the authors examine studies of the relationship between these social risk factors and cognitive decline, examine the cognitive impact of interventions targeted toward social disconnection, explore the mechanisms underlying these relationships, and provide clinical recommendations for identifying and targeting social disconnection.
Key findings
- Social connectedness is important for maintaining cognitive function and cognitive health in older age.
- In particular, social isolation (the objective lack of relationships) and loneliness (the subjective perception of lacking social connection) among older adults are important public health challenges that have been linked to increased cognitive decline and dementia risk in many studies.
- In this review, the authors examine studies of the relationship between these social risk factors and cognitive decline, examine the cognitive impact of interventions targeted toward social disconnection, explore the mechanisms underlying these relationships, and provide clinical recommendations for identifying and targeting social disconnection.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people 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 24 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 43 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Clinics in geriatric medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” 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 | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 | — / 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 40653340) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 24 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 24 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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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. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Umoh, M. E. (2025). Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Cognitive Health. Clinics in geriatric medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cger.2025.04.007
Vancouver
Umoh ME. Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Cognitive Health. Clinics in geriatric medicine. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.cger.2025.04.007. PMID: 40653340.
BibTeX
@article{umoh2025-40653340,
author = {Umoh, Mfon E},
title = {{Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Cognitive Health}},
journal = {Clinics in geriatric medicine},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/j.cger.2025.04.007},
pmid = {40653340},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cger.2025.04.007}
}
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