Longitudinal Dyadic Associations Between Loneliness and Cognition Among Older Couples in the United States

Abstract

Objectives Loneliness is associated with diminished health and cognition for older individuals. However, little research has examined dyadic loneliness – that is, loneliness of both partners in a relationship – and its potential consequences for cognitive functioning among both spouses, nor whether one partner’s cognition may impact both partners’ loneliness over time. Methods We analyze 3-wave dyadic Health and Retirement Study data (2010-2020; N=1,061 dyads) to determine (a) whether loneliness predicts participants’ own and/or their partners’ episodic memory and verbal fluency over 8 years, and (b) whether cognitive functioning predicts older spouses’ own or their partners’ loneliness over the same period. Results Loneliness predicted participants’ own and their partners’ loneliness at follow-up, at both timepoints. Loneliness was also associated with own episodic memory at follow-up, but not with verbal fluency. Episodic memory and verbal fluency predicted one another over time. Neither episodic memory nor verbal fluency predicted loneliness at follow-up. Significant dyadic mediation was established such that Time 1 loneliness was linked with partner’s Time 3 episodic memory via that partner’s Time 2 loneliness. Discussion Lonelier older adults displayed worse trajectories of episodic memory over time, yet poor memory did not precede changes to loneliness. Further, having a lonely partner was linked with poorer episodic memory 8 years later, indicating that both one’s own and – to a lesser extent – a partner’s emotional well-being may be consequential for maintaining cognitive functioning with age. Associations were more clearly established with episodic memory than with verbal fluency, suggesting potential domain-specific effects of loneliness.

Life Course Religious Attendance and Cognitive Health at Midlife: Exploring Gendered Contingencies

“…Scores are determined by summing the correct number of trials for a score range of 0–5. This measure has been used extensively in the cognitive health literature as a valid (objective) measure of cognitive ability (see Alley et al, 2007; Stokes et al, 2023; Sutin et al, 2020).…”

Adverse childhood experiences and cognitive function in later life: the sequential mediating roles of education level and adult loneliness

“…Considering the escalating number of older adults, it becomes crucial to acknowledge the detrimental effects of loneliness, as revealed in both animal models and longitudinal human investigations ( 21–23 ). Substantial studies have found that loneliness was associated with objective social isolation, depression, or poor social skills, cognitive impairment and premature mortality ( 23–25 ). Emerging evidence have suggested that those who have been exposed to ACEs are more likely to have the feeling of loneliness ( 26 , 27 ).…”