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Published on: July 24, 2013
Emotional Loneliness Is Related to Objective Cognitive Function in Older People With HIV in the Washington-Baltimore
Moka Yoo-Jeong1, Raha M Dastgheyb, Eran F Shorer
1Moka Yoo-Jeong, PhD, RN, is an Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Raha M. Dastgheyb, PhD, is an Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Eran F. Shorer, MD, MSc, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Cornelia Demsky, BA, is a Senior Research Coordinator, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Olivia Fox, BS, BA, is a Research Program Director, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Divya Inaganti, is an Medical Student, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas, USA. Sarah Kanner, BS, is a Clinical Research Program Coordinator, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Ava G. Neijna, BA, is a Clinical Research Assistant, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Alison Buchholz, PhD, is an Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Tracey E. Wilson, PhD, is Distinguished Service Professor of the Department of Community Health Sciences and Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and Research, Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Leah H. Rubin, PhD, MA, MPH, is a Professor, Department of Neurology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Abstract:
Loneliness confers a significant risk to numerous health outcomes, including cognitive impairment. This study assessed the relationship between loneliness subtypes (social and emotional) and cognition in older people with HIV (OPWH ≥ 50 years). Forty-two participants (STET = 61.5 years; 48% male; 74% Black) completed the six-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale and measures assessing objective and subjective cognition and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]). Loneliness-cognition associations were examined using linear regression. Models were first adjusted for age, sex, race, and education, and then PHQ-9 score. Mean emotional and social loneliness scores were 1.24 ( SD = 1.22) and 1.21 ( SD = 1.14), respectively. After sociodemographic and PHQ-9 adjustment, emotional, but not social, loneliness was associated with poorer objective cognitive performance on processing speed (Digit Symbol) and executive function (CalCAP™). Findings have potential clinical importance for interventions that target specific loneliness subtypes to optimize cognitive performance in OPWH.
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