Coordinated Multinational Tests of Cognitive Impairment and Mortality In Later Life: Loneliness Vs. Social Isolation

Across coordinated analyses of ten longitudinal studies representing over 170,000 participants from 17 countries, Cox and multistate survival models showed that loneliness reliably predicted cognitive impairment and mortality, while social isolation displayed weaker, model-specific associations. Findings identify loneliness as a central risk factor for critical aging outcomes in later life.