2026/06/15 by Tomiko Yoneda, Kathryn Jackson, Emily C. Noyer +21 · 2 voices
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion #Health disparities and outcomes #Aging and Gerontology Research
paper · doi:10.1037/pspp0000606
openalex publication_date 2026/06/15 · openalex created_date 2026/06/16 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/27
= 175,070). Random effects meta-analyses synthesized results across studies, showing that loneliness was consistently associated with an elevated risk of cognitive impairment and mortality across statistical approaches, even after adjusting for social isolation. Conversely, social isolation was not consistently associated with cognitive impairment and showed weaker associations with mortality risk. Together, our findings suggest that loneliness is a robust, proximal predictor of major aging outcomes and highlight avenues for theory development, strategies to strengthen cognitive resilience and independence in older adulthood, and more efficient resource allocation of public health resources. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).