Surprising new cause of dementia discovered... and scientists say it occurs decades before symptoms appear

Daily Mail ^ | 15:06 EST, 16 November 2025 | Updated: 16:43 EST, 16 November 2025 | CASSIDY MORRISON,

[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...

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TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Science
KEYWORDS: spammingfr

[dfwgator]

"Loneliness, that's the bottom line. I was never happy as a child. Christmas, Ted, what does that mean to you? To me, it was a living hell. Do you know what it's like to fall in the mud and get kicked, in the head, by an iron boot? Of course you don't. No one does. That never happens. I'm sorry, Ted. That's a dumb question. Skip that."

[TornadoAlley3]

Every child is assigned a robot to prevent loneliness and dementia.

[The Duke]

You’re forgetting “cast iron skillets”

[TBP]

Surprising new cause of dementia discovered... and scientists forgot what it was.

[dfwgator]

Robots For Ronnie - Crack The Sky

Oh, Dad, what will we do?
I got another letter from Ronnie’s teacher at school
She said, it’s almost cruel
None of the other kids thinks Ronnie’s cool

The guys think he’s a queer ‘cause
He doesn’t drink beer or watch football
And all the little girls stay away ‘cause he’s just too fat
A fat little brat

I guess we need robots for Ronnie
A stainless steel group of chums
Robots for Ronnie
A boy and a girl
Maybe an aluminum cat

Every day he’s in his room
He doesn’t lock the door ‘cause he knows it’s really no use
I mean, nobody’s ever even been up there
If Ronnie were to blow up, I don’t think anyone would care

He doesn’t brush his teeth ‘cause he never talks to no one
He doesn’t wipe his feet because he’s never coming in
Coming in?

I guess we need robots for Ronnie
A stainless steel group of chums
Robots for Ronnie
A boy and a girl
Maybe an aluminum cat

Oh, we can talk about the old days
Parties and dances and leads in class plays
But all of the memories he’ll have
Are plugging in a friend and shining up a cat

We need robots for Ronnie
A stainless steel group of chums
Robots for Ronnie
A boy and a girl
Maybe an aluminum cat

[Spacetrucker]

No, that’s Alzheimers. Dementia would be, “Yeah, asshole, and your mother makes shitty coffee!!”.

[damper99]

Since I don’t remember being lonely as a child, I guess I’m ok.

[Seruzawa]

Correlation is not causation. Except to a doofus.

[kawhill]

The saying, “I am never less alone than when alone,” is attributed to the ancient Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero. A very similar and famous quote is “I was never less alone than when by myself,” written by the English historian Edward Gibbon.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Agreed! BS! We lived 40 miles away from everyone, had no friends, then moved to other areas where we lived alone.
Now at the age of 79 We all are still going strong mentally.

[Seruzawa]

No you have it backwards. I think. Well maybe. Where’s my soup?

[madison10]

Your causes sound more plausible.

[jeffersondem]

Rodney Dangerfield said he was very lonely as a child; no friends.

He was so lonely - when he played at the park he had to sit on both ends of the seesaw.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

He didn’t get any respect, you know. 🤡

[4Runner]

I would like to see the correlation found between loneliness, dementia, and penile size. Wake me when that study comes out.

[Ezekiel]

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.

On the one hand, this research looks sketchy.

OTOH, the same letters of "House of David" [בית דוד] spell [בְּדִידוּת] -- loneliness, solitude, isolation.

Jewish tradition has it that David was thought illegitimate, and was therefore shunned and isolated since birth. It's simply what's out there, although I haven't seen a comparison to the word itself.

This psalm [69] describes the life of a poor, despised and lowly individual, who lacks even a single friend to comfort him. It is the voice of a tormented soul who has experienced untold humiliation and disgrace. Through no apparent cause of his own, he is surrounded by enemies who wish to cut him down; even his own brothers are strangers to him, ravaging and reviling him.

Amazingly, this is the voice of the mighty King David, righteous and beloved servant of G‑d, feared and awed by all.

King David had many challenges throughout his life. But at what point did this great individual feel so alone, so disgraced, and so undeserving of love and friendship?

What caused King David to face such an intense ignominy, to be shunned by his own brothers in his home (“I have become a stranger to my brothers”), by the Torah sages who sat in judgment at the gates (“those who sit by the gate talk about me”) and by the drunkards on the street corners (“I am the taunt of drunkards”)? What had King David done to arouse such ire and contempt? And was there no one, at this time in his life, who would provide him with love, comfort and friendship?

This psalm, in which King David passionately gives voice to the heaviest burdens of his soul, refers to a period of twenty-eight years, from his earliest childhood until he was coronated as king of the people of Israel by the prophet Samuel.

Continued

[bunkerhill7]

Nonsense

[BereanBrain]

BULL.

[Bullish]

I experience dementia 30 minutes after my wife asks me to do chores.

It takes you that long? I'm in the under 3 second range myself.

[Jeff Chandler]

I blame cats

Cats don't make you forgetful. Cats make you crazy.