Feelings of loneliness, but not social isolation, predict dementia onset: results from the Amsterdam Study of the Elderly (AMSTEL).

Background: Known risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias include medical conditions, genetic vulnerability, depression, demographic factors and mild cognitive impairment. The role of feelings of loneliness and social isolation in dementia is less well understood, and prospective studies including these risk factors are scarce.

Methods: We tested the association between social isolation (living alone, unmarried, without social support), feelings of loneliness and incident dementia in a cohort study among 2173 non-demented community-living older persons.