Abstract
ObjectivesTo investigate associations between level and changes in social isolation and in memory in older men and women.MethodsThe sample included 6,123 women and 5,110 men aged 50+ from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA). Extended latent change score models from six measurement occasions every 2 years from 2002 were used to investigate associations between social isolation and memory. Models were adjusted for age, socioeconomic position, and health.ResultsSocial isolation increased and memory decreased over time. Among men an initially high level of social isolation was associated with a somewhat greater decrease in memory. Among women a greater increase in social isolation predicted a greater decrease in memory and a larger change in social isolation was associated with further larger changes in isolation, although when social isolation reached a higher level it subsequently decreased.ConclusionsResults suggest that the association between social isolation and memory decline arises because social isolation is associated with increased memory decline rather than poor memory leading to increases in social isolation. Men with high levels of social isolation and women with accumulated social isolation over time are especially affected as these patterns of isolation were associated with more profound memory decline.
Highlights
To disentangle the direction of these hypothesized pathways, we investigate how both levels and changes in social isolation and memory are associated with subsequent changes using data from six waves of The English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA)
This study investigated the relationship between level and change in social isolation and memory in a nationally representative sample of older people in England
Previous studies have proposed that social isolation results in poorer memory, or alternatively that poorer memory leads to social isolation
Summary
To investigate associations between level and changes in social isolation and in memory in older men and women. Extended latent change score models from six measurement occasions every 2 years from 2002 were used to investigate associations between social isolation and memory. Results: Social isolation increased and memory decreased over time. Among men an initially high level of social isolation was associated with a somewhat greater decrease in memory. Among women a greater increase in social isolation predicted a greater decrease in memory and a larger change in social isolation was associated with further larger changes in isolation, when social isolation reached a higher level it subsequently decreased. Men with high levels of social isolation and women with accumulated social isolation over time are especially affected as these patterns of isolation were associated with more profound memory decline
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