Posted on 11/16/2025 2:20:35 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
The roots of cognitive decline later in life may begin in childhood, a major new study suggests.
Researchers discovered that the experience of childhood loneliness is strongly linked to accelerated cognitive decline and a significantly higher risk of dementia in people 50 and up.
The critical factor was the subjective, emotional feeling of loneliness itself, which sharply increased dementia risk even for those who had friends.
Crucially, the link persisted even for those who were no longer lonely as adults, suggesting the damaging effects of early-life isolation can cast a long shadow over the brain's health.
While loneliness at any age is a known risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, the long-term impact of loneliness experienced in childhood is poorly understood.
This is a critical gap, as childhood is a period of significant brain development, where a child is highly vulnerable to stressors such as loneliness, poverty and food insecurity, neglect and bullying.
Nearly half of the roughly 1,400 adults in the study reported being lonely and without close friends in childhood.
People who felt lonely as children started their middle-aged years with lower memory and thinking skills. Moreover, their cognitive abilities declined at a faster pace each year compared to those who were not lonely as kids.
The latest study found that frequent childhood loneliness is linked to faster cognitive decline in midlife and a 41 percent higher risk of dementia (stock)
According to the latest research, childhood loneliness was consistently linked to a significantly faster rate of cognitive decline in later life, shown in the downward-trending graph. This association was strong and clear across the entire group of participants
The research was a collaborative effort by scientists from universities in China, Australia, and the United States, including Harvard and Boston universities.
The team analyzed data from a large, long-term...
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
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So, future socialist voters coming up...
I experience dementia 30 minutes after my wife asks me to do chores.
Smells like BS.
They made money on this research.
I blame cats and I’m no biologist.
Friends to stab you in the back first chance they get ,LOL
These Researchers have mental issues
The study did face some difficulties.
Scientist: “Were you lonely in childhood.”
Dementia Patient: “I don’t remember.”
I’m surprised that it is not linked to higher CO2 levels, Gorebal Warning and Seal Level Rise...
Correlation made them jump to causality?
Again, correlation is not causation.
Yep sure does
Fortunately, this porker is destined to never get dementia...
Nonsense
Head strikes early in life like football
Refusal to do analytical work later in life aka brain laziness
Lack of social interaction
Lack of social interaction, certain food preservatives, or certain MEDICATIONS like Xanax, etc...
So, can we sue the schools for encouraging children to not have best friends?
I’m not so sure about lonliness being a prime factor in developing dementia. Maybe in some people, who already show a tendency for hypersensitivity and fragile ego, but it seems that the experience of loneliness is simply a part of most people’s life.
If it’s prolonged loneliness + parental negligence - close friends - fun/ trust or humor, THEN, that person will be having problems, and it will be much sooner than when they become elderly.
I was out doing yard work and stepped in something that smelled like this article.
Surprised they didn’t blame it on climate change.
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