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BEIJING, China— A new and deeply concerning medical study has highlighted that emotional experiences during early life, specifically childhood loneliness, can have devastating and long-term consequences for cognitive health in old age. According to a research team at the Capital Medical University in Beijing, children who experience loneliness early in life face a 41 percent higher risk of developing dementia in middle or later adulthood.
The extensive research findings were published in the international academic journal, ‘JAMA Network Open.’ The study meticulously examined the correlation between loneliness felt before the age of 17 and the subsequent risk of dementia and cognitive decline later in life.
The research team explained that while the link between loneliness in adults and an increased risk of dementia is well-established, the long-term effects of childhood experiences had not been fully documented or investigated. To address this gap, researchers analyzed data from 13,592 individuals with an average age of 58.3 years.
Participants were divided into three groups for the study:
- Loneliness Group: 565 participants who reported frequently feeling lonely and having no close friends before the age of 17.
- Possible Loneliness Group: 6,525 individuals (48 percent of the total group) who experienced moderate loneliness.
- Non-Lonely Group: Individuals who never reported feeling lonely.
The results were compelling. The Loneliness Group demonstrated a 41 percent higher risk of developing dementia in mid-to-late life compared to the non-lonely group. Furthermore, the annual rate of cognitive decline in both the loneliness and possible loneliness groups increased by 0.02 to 0.03 percent, significantly faster than the non-lonely group. This research serves as a poignant reminder that attention to children’s emotional and social well-being is a crucial long-term public health imperative.
