Reuters reports that "Elderly people who report being lonely are more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as people who are not lonely, new research indicates."

Social isolation in old age -- being single, having few friends, and participating in few activities with others -- has been associated with risk of developing dementia, Dr. Robert S. Wilson, from Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, and colleagues explain in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

"'Loneliness was associated with lower cognitive function at the start of the study and with more rapid cognitive decline during the study,' the authors report." You can find the entire article here.

Labels: alzheimer's, dementia, loneliness