Poster Session 09 Program Schedule
02/16/2024
03:30 pm - 04:45 pm
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)
Poster Session 09: Epilepsy | Oncology | MS | Infectious Disease
Final Abstract #62
Loneliness but Not Social Isolation Cross-sectionally Associated with Worse Cognitive Function in Older Adults During COVID-19
Madison Landry, University of Maine, Orono, United States
Dylan Taplin, University of Maine, Orono, United States
Morgan Tallman, University of Maine, Orono, United States
Holly Timblin, University of Maine, Orono, United States
Rebecca MacAulay, University of Maine, Orono, United States
Category: Aging
Keyword 1: cognitive functioning
Objective:
Social isolation and loneliness are associated with greater stress and morbidity, which may exert negative effects on cognitive function. COVID-19 promoted social isolation to reduce disease transmission, thus impacting access to social support. Although loneliness is a recognized risk factor for cognitive decline, knowledge is limited concerning the effects of loneliness as compared to social isolation on cognitive function during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined the interrelationships among cognitive function, social isolation, and loneliness within the context of pandemic stress in 140 older adults.
Participants and Methods:
Our data came from the Maine Aging Behavior Learning Enrichment study (M-ABLE-Wave 2) collected via Zoom. The National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) Telephone Neuropsychological battery examined verbal memory (Craft Story 21 and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test: RAVLT), executive function and processing speed (Oral Trails Making Test Trails A & B), and verbal fluency (Category Fluency and F-L tests). The NACC COVID-19 impact scale assessed pandemic-related social isolation and stress.
Results:
Partial correlations adjusting for age found that loneliness was associated with worse immediate verbal recall, learning and list recognition, slower processing speed, delayed story recall, and semantic fluency but not phonemic fluency or delayed list recall. While social isolation was associated with greater loneliness and lower perceived control, no relationships emerged with cognitive function.
Conclusions:
Loneliness, but not social isolation, was significantly associated with worse cognitive function. Our results also suggested pattern-specific findings with loneliness on cognitive function. These findings highlight loneliness as an area for potential intervention to prevent cognitive decline.
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