social isolation

So we've been talking about, uh, elderly, uh, because this month commemorates elderly awareness, and I wanna talk about the proven...

Is there a proven link between social isolation and an increased risk of dementia, or is the relationship between these two concepts more complicated?

Yes.

So there is an established association between social isolation, loneliness, and dementia.

There's actually been a large study that's been done that found that loneliness and social isolation increase the risk of dementia by about 26 to 31%, but that relationship is quite complicated, and association, um, doesn't necessarily prove that it's a direct cause.

It just means that it's an inc- it can, might increase the risk of dementia.

So how does loneliness actually affect the brain, and can prolonged social isolation actually contribute to cognitive decline?

So there are several possible pathways.

These are things that can increase or decrease your likelihood of developing dementia later in life.

Some of these are the things you would expect, like smoking and head trauma, and then there are the ones that you may have not considered, like vision loss, pollution, and the subject of today's episode, loneliness and social isolation.

Jake spoke to two researchers about the cognitive cost of isolation and gives us a tour through a New York housing community designed to keep older residents connected.

After his reporting, Jake and I will dig into the response we got when we asked you, our listeners, to share your own stories about loneliness.

Social contact in any form has a potentially beneficial effect on dementia risk because it can build cognitive reserve, it can promote healthy behaviors, and it can reduce stress

stressDr.

Elser explained that social isolation is among fourteen modifiable risk factors identified by the Lancet Commission on Dementia Intervention, Prevention, and Care.

The Lancet is one of the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals in the world, and its commissions are specialized articles that synthesize the latest research in specific fields related to public health and clinical medicine.

It was a funny line in the book where you wrote, "Of course, part of the reason Americans are having trouble finding these missing humans is because we are compelled..." You know, we're in, we're stuck in our social media feeds.

So you write, "He takes on American social isolation as a business opportunity." A- and, and this iso- isolation, uh, that in a major part he has helped cause-

Right

... he's gonna sell you some avatar friends and make even more money.

The tech companies create these incredibly huge societal problems, and then they're trying to make money by selling these solutions that in the long term are gonna make it so much worse.

Yeah, I mean, there's a, there's a long tradition of people like me pointing out that technology companies make the problem and then say only technology can be part of the solution.

There's no question but that social media increased social isolation.

Uh, I mean, w- we talk a lot about what it does to body image and loneliness and suicidal thoughts and, you know, but one of the things it certainly do- did is, is really make it less likely that a teenager is gonna walk out the door and visit a neighbor.

I'm an assistant professor here at UC San Diego and a physician scientist.

And my talk is entitled Social Isolation as a Biological Risk Factor in Recovery After Birth Injury.

And grateful to Mariana for not having to introduce pelvic floor disorders.

They're pretty horrible.

Sure.

It's so fascinating.

But like, what would be the biological? So, you know, like social isolation, like carnage that is made in the liver, right?

It comes from many sources, including diet.

Are there any other mental health factors or risk factors for COPD flare-ups that we should be watching for?

Probably something else that's really important is social isolation.

You know, it's very normal, I think, you know, when you have COPD, I hear this from a lot of my patients, that they're afraid to leave the house because of their symptom burden or, um, you know, they're afraid they're going to be out somewhere by themselves and they're going to suddenly not be able to breathe and not know what to do, or something is going to malfunction with their oxygen concentrator when they're out, and that is a scary situation.

So it is naturally more desirable to stay at home, because that feels safer.