Living alone increases the likelihood of developing dementia. Experts from the University of Cambridge came to this conclusion.
Loneliness for the elderly is a common phenomenon, although it is very unpleasant. But in addition to purely psychological discomfort, it is also very dangerous for health, as shown by a study based on an analysis of 460 Britons over 50 and 60. It was carried out by scientists from Cambridge, together with Chinese colleagues.
A study has shown that social isolation increases the likelihood of developing dementia by 26%. Brain scans have shown that socially isolated adults have less gray matter in key areas of the brain involved in memory and learning. Consequently, loneliness is a very serious and completely underestimated public health problem.
In addition to the lonely people themselves, the danger is also relevant for those who are not so often visited by friends and relatives, as well as for those who are not involved in a large number of social activities, spending most of their time on the couch watching TV. Social isolation has been a problem for older people for decades, and the coronavirus has made it worse. Unfortunately, it is technically very difficult to deal with loneliness, it is necessary to direct a variety of public programs to this end, which will make it possible to more actively involve lonely people in contacts with society. (READ MORE) 
University of Cambridge
Medicine
UK university, one of the oldest (second only to Oxford ) and the largest in the country, the fourth oldest in the world