School of Business National College of Ireland, Dublin 1, Ireland.
UK CRC Centre of Excellence for Public Health Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Aging Ment Health. 2020 Jul;24(7):1071-1078. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2019.1599816. Epub 2019 Apr 7.
: To evaluate the relationship between loneliness and cognitive functioning, and whether depressive and anxiety symptoms have intermediate roles therein.: Information about 7,433 participants of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (a prospective, representative cohort study), aged over 50, was collected at three time-points two years apart, and analysed using Structural Equation Modelling to assess whether depressive and anxiety symptoms mediate the relationship between loneliness and cognitive functioning. Cognitive functioning was measured as a latent factor, with four indicators: measures of immediate and delayed word recall, verbal fluency, and a global measure (the MMSE). Loneliness was measured using the UCLA Loneliness scale, depressive symptoms using the CES-D-ML scale, and anxiety symptoms using the HADS-A scale.: Loneliness at time-point 1 predicted cognitive functioning at time-point 3, = -0.103, < 0.001, and depressive ( = 0.426, < 0.001) and anxiety ( = 0.410, < 0.001) symptoms at time-point 2. Depressive ( = -0.020, = 0.001) but not anxiety ( = -0.000, = 0.658) symptoms mediated the relationship between loneliness and cognitive functioning, total effect: = -0.123, < 0.001.: The relationship between loneliness and cognitive functioning is in part explained by its relationship with depressive symptoms. Statistically, the mediation model helps us understand possible mechanisms through which loneliness impacts cognitive functioning. Results have implications for cognitive functioning interventions for older adults, and imply that loneliness is also a worthwhile target for intervention.
：为了评估孤独感与认知功能之间的关系，以及抑郁和焦虑症状是否在其中起中介作用：我们收集了年龄在 50 岁以上的 7433 名爱尔兰老龄化纵向研究（一项前瞻性、代表性队列研究）参与者的信息，这些信息在两年的三个时间点上收集，并使用结构方程模型进行分析，以评估抑郁和焦虑症状是否在孤独感与认知功能之间起中介作用。认知功能被测量为一个潜在因素，有四个指标：即时和延迟单词回忆、言语流畅性和一个整体测量（MMSE）。孤独感用 UCLA 孤独量表测量，抑郁症状用 CES-D-ML 量表测量，焦虑症状用 HADS-A 量表测量。：第 1 时间点的孤独感预测第 3 时间点的认知功能，β=-0.103， < 0.001，第 2 时间点的抑郁（β=0.426， < 0.001）和焦虑（β=0.410， < 0.001）症状。抑郁（β=-0.020， = 0.001）而不是焦虑（β=-0.000， = 0.658）症状在孤独感与认知功能之间起中介作用，总效应：β=-0.123， < 0.001。：孤独感与认知功能之间的关系部分是由孤独感与抑郁症状之间的关系解释的。从统计学上讲，中介模型有助于我们了解孤独感影响认知功能的可能机制。研究结果对老年人的认知功能干预具有启示意义，同时也表明孤独感也是干预的一个有价值的目标。
