| Title: | Social isolation, loneliness, genetic risk, and incident dementia in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A population-based cohort study |
| Journal: | Journal of Alzheimer's Disease |
| Published: | 1 Jul 2025 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40438953/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1177/13872877251344253 |
Publication 15173
WARNING: the interactive features of this website use CSS3, which your browser does not support. To use the full features of this website, please update your browser.
Abstract
BackgroundSocial isolation and loneliness, two independent constructs of social disengagement, are becoming increasingly recognized factors for dementia risk.ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate whether these two constructs also associate with dementia risk in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), which is becoming more prevalent.MethodsThe longitudinal study included 24,986 participants (mean age: 60.0 ± 6.9 years, median follow-up: 12.0 years) with T2DM at baseline from the UK Biobank. Social isolation and loneliness were assessed using self-reported questionnaires. Genetic risk factors for dementia including polygenic risk score (PRS) and APOE genotype were extracted. We identified incident dementia cases by linking hospital records and death registries.ResultsSocial isolation (most versus least: hazard ratio, HR: 1.46 [95% confidence intervals, CI: 1.22-1.75]) and loneliness (yes versus no: 1.56 [1.25-1.95]) were associated with an increased risk of incident dementia after adjusting for demographic factors; however, such associations attenuated when further adjusting for health behaviors, psychological factors, or diabetes-related characteristics. The social isolation-dementia association was predominantly attributable to health behaviors (48% for the most social isolation), while the loneliness-dementia association was largely explained by psychological factors (46%). Significant modification effects of dementia genetic risk were observed in these associations.ConclusionsSocial isolation and loneliness were associated with a greater risk for incident dementia among T2DM individuals, with differential explanatory factors. The genetic risk for dementia modified these associations. The findings underscore the importance of strengthening social connections to mitigate diabetes-related dementia risk.</p>
16 Keywords
- Aged
- Apolipoproteins E
- Cohort Studies
- Dementia
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
- Female
- Genetic Predisposition to Disease
- Humans
- Incidence
- Loneliness
- Longitudinal Studies
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Risk Factors
- Social Isolation
- United Kingdom
12 Authors
- Zhixuan He
- Yu Nie
- Weijie Zhang
- Yue Liu
- Yaping Liu
- Huachen Xue
- Sizhi Ai
- Hongliang Feng
- Yujing Zhou
- Jihui Zhang
- Yan Yannis Liang
- Yuping Ning
1 Application
| Application ID | Title |
|---|---|
| 93604 | Life-course risk and protective factors associated with complex diseases |
Enabling scientific discoveries that improve human health