Adherence
Poor social engagement (including poor social network and poor social support) is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing dementia.
Prioritize building and maintaining a reliable social network and seeking social support, as these structural aspects of socialization are linked to a lower risk of dementia. Focus on objective measures like having a close friend, regular contact, and support systems rather than just subjective feelings of loneliness, which showed less consistent protective effects in this analysis.
Poor social engagement indices were associated with increased dementia risk, including having a poor social network (RR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.31–1.96; I2 = 0.00%) and poor social support (RR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.01–1.62; I2 = 55.51%).
Why this rating
Meta-analysis of 33 studies with over 2 million participants, though heterogeneity exists for some subgroups.
Source
The Association between Social Engagement, Loneliness, and Risk of Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Ross Penninkilampi et al. · Journal of Alzheimer s Disease · 2018
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