Loneliness and Perceived Cognitive Function: Evidence from a Large-Scale Daily Study

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Background and Objectives: Loneliness is linked to poor cognition and dementia risk. Yet, little is known about how loneliness relates to perceptions of cognitive functioning in daily life, particularly among individuals at-risk for dementia. We examined within-person and between-person associations between daily loneliness and subjective cognition and tested moderation by cognitive status, dispositional loneliness, and sociodemographic characteristics.Research Design and Methods: Data were from 2,540 adults aged 40 years and older (Mage= 63; 59.6% female; 32.7% with subjective cognitive decline [SCD]; 7.3% with cognitive impairment, no dementia [CIND]), who completed 8 daily assessments of loneliness, subjective cognitive functioning, forgetting, and forgetting-related irritation and interference.Results: Participants with higher mean daily loneliness reported worse cognitive functioning and greater odds of forgetting over the study period. On days when participants felt lonelier than their average, they reported poorer cognition. Daily loneliness was not associated with forgetting on a given day but was associated with greater forgetting-related irritation and interference. While participants with SCD or CIND reported higher daily loneliness, associations did not differ by cognitive status, dispositional loneliness, or socio-demographic factors. There was limited evidence of lagged associations.Discussion and Implications: Loneliness was negatively associated with subjective cognition between persons and within persons. Associations were consistent across normal cognition, SCD, and CIND, suggesting loneliness may be relevant to subjective cognition regardless of clinical stage. The higher daily loneliness among SCD and CIND participants underscores the need to address psychosocial well-being in efforts to promote cognitive health and support dementia prevention strategies.

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