Social isolation can quickly shrink brain cells, especially in the elderly. Photo: File
Japan: Scientists have said that man is like a social animal and loneliness is his enemy. Prolonged loneliness, especially in the elderly, causes shrinkage in their brains. It causes diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.
A report published in the American Academy of Neurology on July 12 states that social isolation has become a major problem in today’s age. Elderly people live alone and young people are not able to give them time due to fast pace of life, this has created a crisis but due to this the elderly brain is shrinking and many functions are not working properly.
The research was conducted by Toshihara Ninomaya and colleagues at Kyushu University in Japan. He has emphasized that isolated people feel more depressed and helpless. This condition becomes chronic and increases the risk of dementia. Shrinkage of certain important parts of the brain is called ‘brain atrophy’.
A total of 8,896 people with an average age of 73 years were included in the study, including one patient without dementia. His brain MRI and other tests were also done. Then questionnaires were filled by all the participants. They were also asked about visiting relatives, number of friends, phone conversations and social contacts. Similarly, data of daily, weekly and monthly appointments were also collected.
Surprisingly, the less social contact the elderly had, the smaller their brain volume compared to the rest. In particular, the white and brown (grey) areas of the brain were noted. A careful study revealed that the volume of liquid, white and brown matter in the shipment was abnormally low by 67%. It should be clear that this is talking about the minds of those people who live completely isolated and do not talk to anyone. Also, compared to socially active seniors, their key brain regions, the hippocampus and amygdala, were also smaller than others. Both these parts play an important role in memory.
The American Academy of Neurology has said after this research that there is an urgent need to include the elderly socially and they have urged governments to include it in the national health policy.
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