A new study finds persistent loneliness taking a toll on aging brains and significantly raising a person's odds for dementia.

Research funded by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health tracked self-reports of loneliness and the neurological health of more than 600,000 people worldwide.

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The study found loneliness was linked to a 31% rise in the likelihood that a person would go on to develop any form of dementia. Loneliness also raised the chances of cognitive impairment in people by 15%.

According to study co-author Dr Páraic Ó Súilleabháin, of the University of Limerick, in Ireland, “These are very important findings and indicate that loneliness is a critically important risk factor in the future development of dementia."

The study was published Oct. 9 in the journal Nature Mental Health.

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In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy published a report on loneliness and isolation among Americans, labeling it an "epidemic." The effects of loneliness on physical and mental health are already well known.

“Our laboratory has found that loneliness is critical to future health in a variety of different ways, including our longevity — i.e. how long we live," noted Ó Súilleabháin, who directs the Personality, Individual Differences and Biobehavioral Health Laboratory at the Irish university.

“Loneliness is critically important for cognitive health, in that loneliness leads to the future development of dementia, vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and more general cognitive impairment," he explained.

He called the new study "a very important piece of research which will have far reaching consequences.”

The study was led by Dr. Martina Luchetti, from the College of Medicine at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

Speaking in the University of Limerick news release, she said there's one silver lining from the study: Loneliness is a risk factor that can be changed.

"There are different types and sources of loneliness that can affect cognitive symptoms across the dementia continuum," Luchetti said. "Addressing loneliness promoting a feeling of connectedness could be protective for cognitive health in later life.”