Data_Sheet_1_No Association Between Loneliness, Episodic Memory and Hippocampal Volume Change in Young and Healthy Older Adults: A Longitudinal European Multicenter Study.docx

BackgroundLoneliness is most prevalent during adolescence and late life and has been associated with mental health disorders as well as with cognitive decline during aging. Associations between longitudinal measures of loneliness and verbal episodic memory and brain structure should thus be investigated.
MethodsWe sought to determine associations between loneliness and verbal episodic memory as well as loneliness and hippocampal volume trajectories across three longitudinal cohorts within the Lifebrain Consortium, including children, adolescents (N = 69, age range 10–15 at baseline examination) and older adults (N = 1468 over 60). We also explored putative loneliness correlates of cortical thinning across the entire cortical mantle.
ResultsLoneliness was associated with worsening of verbal episodic memory in one cohort of older adults. Specifically, reporting medium to high levels of loneliness over time was related to significantly increased memory loss at follow-up examinations. The significance of the loneliness-memory change association was lost when eight participants were excluded after having developed dementia in any of the subsequent follow-up assessments. No significant structural brain correlates of loneliness were found, neither hippocampal volume change nor cortical thinning.
ConclusionIn the present longitudinal European multicenter study, the association between loneliness and episodic memory was mainly driven by individuals exhibiting progressive cognitive decline, which reinforces previous findings associating loneliness with cognitive impairment and dementia.

背景 孤独感在青春期及老年晚期最为高发，且与精神障碍及衰老过程中的认知衰退密切相关。因此，有必要对纵向评估的孤独感与言语情景记忆、大脑结构之间的关联开展研究。
方法 本研究旨在明确生命脑联盟（Lifebrain Consortium）旗下三项纵向队列中，孤独感与言语情景记忆、孤独感与海马体积轨迹之间的关联。本次队列涵盖儿童、青少年（N=69，基线检查年龄范围为10~15岁）及老年人群（N=1468，年龄均≥60岁）。此外，本研究还探索了全大脑皮层变薄与孤独感的潜在关联。
结果 在一项老年人群队列中，孤独感与言语情景记忆的衰退存在显著关联。具体而言，长期报告中等至高水平孤独感的参与者，在随访检查中出现记忆减退的程度显著更高。当排除后续随访评估中确诊痴呆的8名参与者后，孤独感与记忆变化之间的关联不再具有统计学显著性。本研究未发现孤独感与显著的大脑结构关联，既未发现海马体积变化与孤独感相关，也未发现皮层变薄与孤独感存在关联。
结论 在本项纵向欧洲多中心研究中，孤独感与情景记忆之间的关联主要由出现进行性认知衰退的个体所驱动，这一结果进一步验证了此前关于孤独感与认知损害及痴呆相关的研究发现。