Perceived loneliness mediates the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and executive function deficits
Abstract Social interaction is essential for human survival and well-being; however, aging often increases the risk of loneliness alongside cognitive changes. While research on aging has highlighted loneliness as a marker of various cognitive stages, the precise role of loneliness as a mediator of c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05367-w |
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| author | Chenyi Chen Valentino Marcel Tahamata Yi-Fang Chuang Yan-Siang Huang Yi-Hsin Chuang Yu-Tsen Lin Yawei Cheng Yang-Teng Fan Yen-Ling Chiu Róger Marcelo Martinez Tsai-Tsen Liao Ovid J. L. Tzeng |
| author_facet | Chenyi Chen Valentino Marcel Tahamata Yi-Fang Chuang Yan-Siang Huang Yi-Hsin Chuang Yu-Tsen Lin Yawei Cheng Yang-Teng Fan Yen-Ling Chiu Róger Marcelo Martinez Tsai-Tsen Liao Ovid J. L. Tzeng |
| author_sort | Chenyi Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Social interaction is essential for human survival and well-being; however, aging often increases the risk of loneliness alongside cognitive changes. While research on aging has highlighted loneliness as a marker of various cognitive stages, the precise role of loneliness as a mediator of cognitive deficit in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains unclear. A total of 155 older adults ranging from 60 to 90 years old participated in this study, with 75 individuals diagnosed with MCI and 80 healthy controls. Outcome measures included MMSE, the Geriatric Depression Scale, and a standardized battery of neurocognitive functioning tests. In comparison to the health controls, individuals with MCI exhibited higher levels of perceived loneliness and depressive symptoms. Additionally, they demonstrated poorer performance on various neurocognitive tests. Perceived loneliness showed a positive association with depressive symptoms and a negative correlation with performance on tests assessing forward/backward digit span, vocabulary, similarity, symbol substitution, and color trails. The mediation analysis indicated that perceived loneliness significantly mediated the relationship between MCI status and executive function performance, accounting for approximately 6% of the total effect. These findings highlight the potential role of loneliness as a contributing psychosocial factor associated with cognitive performance in individuals with MCI. This understanding may inform future directions for disease monitoring and the design of targeted interventions in clinical trials addressing neurodegenerative conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e7e721a8da0a43c692ff15de915f938b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-e7e721a8da0a43c692ff15de915f938b2025-08-20T03:37:28ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-07-0112111010.1057/s41599-025-05367-wPerceived loneliness mediates the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and executive function deficitsChenyi Chen0Valentino Marcel Tahamata1Yi-Fang Chuang2Yan-Siang Huang3Yi-Hsin Chuang4Yu-Tsen Lin5Yawei Cheng6Yang-Teng Fan7Yen-Ling Chiu8Róger Marcelo Martinez9Tsai-Tsen Liao10Ovid J. L. Tzeng11Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical UniversityGraduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical UniversityDepartment of Psychiatry, Far Eastern Memorial HospitalDepartment of Neurology, Far Eastern Memorial HospitalGraduate Institute of Medicine, Yuan Ze UniversityGraduate Institute of Medicine, Yuan Ze UniversityInstitute of Neuroscience and Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung UniversityGraduate Institute of Medicine, Yuan Ze UniversityGraduate Institute of Medicine, Yuan Ze UniversityGraduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical UniversityResearch Center of Cancer Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical UniversityDepartment of Biological Science and Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung UniversityAbstract Social interaction is essential for human survival and well-being; however, aging often increases the risk of loneliness alongside cognitive changes. While research on aging has highlighted loneliness as a marker of various cognitive stages, the precise role of loneliness as a mediator of cognitive deficit in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains unclear. A total of 155 older adults ranging from 60 to 90 years old participated in this study, with 75 individuals diagnosed with MCI and 80 healthy controls. Outcome measures included MMSE, the Geriatric Depression Scale, and a standardized battery of neurocognitive functioning tests. In comparison to the health controls, individuals with MCI exhibited higher levels of perceived loneliness and depressive symptoms. Additionally, they demonstrated poorer performance on various neurocognitive tests. Perceived loneliness showed a positive association with depressive symptoms and a negative correlation with performance on tests assessing forward/backward digit span, vocabulary, similarity, symbol substitution, and color trails. The mediation analysis indicated that perceived loneliness significantly mediated the relationship between MCI status and executive function performance, accounting for approximately 6% of the total effect. These findings highlight the potential role of loneliness as a contributing psychosocial factor associated with cognitive performance in individuals with MCI. This understanding may inform future directions for disease monitoring and the design of targeted interventions in clinical trials addressing neurodegenerative conditions.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05367-w |
| spellingShingle | Chenyi Chen Valentino Marcel Tahamata Yi-Fang Chuang Yan-Siang Huang Yi-Hsin Chuang Yu-Tsen Lin Yawei Cheng Yang-Teng Fan Yen-Ling Chiu Róger Marcelo Martinez Tsai-Tsen Liao Ovid J. L. Tzeng Perceived loneliness mediates the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and executive function deficits Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | Perceived loneliness mediates the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and executive function deficits |
| title_full | Perceived loneliness mediates the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and executive function deficits |
| title_fullStr | Perceived loneliness mediates the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and executive function deficits |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceived loneliness mediates the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and executive function deficits |
| title_short | Perceived loneliness mediates the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and executive function deficits |
| title_sort | perceived loneliness mediates the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and executive function deficits |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05367-w |
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