Consequences of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic in older adults with and without Alzheimer's disease

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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused over half a million deaths in the United States alone. Even for those individuals whose physical health and financial security have not been impacted, the consequences of pandemic-induced isolation on mental and cognitive health may be far-reaching— especially for our Veterans. Prior to the pandemic, approximately 10% of older Veterans reported feeling lonely often and 40% indicated feeling lonely some of the time. Due to social distancing guidelines and other measures that limit social contact, loneliness during the pandemic has likely been far greater than these estimates. Decades of research have supported the protective effect of social relationships on cognition in older adulthood; thus, the disruption of social support related to the pandemic may impact cognitive function in the older Veteran population. To address this possibility, we propose a prospective study to examine the relationships between isolation in the pandemic and subsequent cognitive function in healthy older adult Veterans and in older Veterans with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Aim 1). In addition, forced isolation is likely not the only factor with important consequences in the pandemic. We propose investigating two other pandemic-related contexts that may either mitigate the effects of isolation in the pandemic or exacerbate the consequences of cognitive impairment on health-related outcomes for older Veterans. First, older Veterans may be able to cope with isolation through use of features of the built environment, such as porches, window views, and public neighborhood space. However, the extent the built environment may be able to mitigate pandemic-related loneliness in older adults is unknown. In Aim 2, we test the hypothesis that built environment factors will mitigate or contribute to social isolation in older Veterans with and without AD. In addition, individuals’ cognition may be impacted by their belief in misconceptions related to social isolation itself. In Aim 3, we test the relationship between cognitive function and the ability to correct misconceptions related to social isolation and AD—and whether such corrections engender changes in behavior. To accomplish Aims 1-3, we will apply questionnaires and neuropsychological tests administered during the first wave of the pandemic (June 2020-June 2021) to 196 participants over three additional one-year time intervals from October 2022 to September 2025. In Aim 1, we will test the relationship between social isolation in the pandemic and cognitive function one, two, and three years later. In Aim 2, we will test whether older Veterans with fewer built environment resources will demonstrate a worsening of social isolation, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and cognition over time. In Aim 3, two objectives will be tested. First, we will determine the extent that individuals with and without cognitive impairment due to AD can successfully change their belief in misconceptions related to social isolation and AD through a correction procedure over time. Second, we will test whether corrections related to changes in behavior at delayed intervals of 1 and 2 years. Preliminary cross-sectional data from our already recruited final sample of older adults (N=196) with and without AD support the relationships between social isolation and cognitive impairment (Aim 1), the built environment and social isolation (Aim 2), and cognitive impairment and misconception correction (Aim 3). As the ramifications of the pandemic continue to unfold for years—possibly decades—it is imperative that we understand the relationship between social isolation and future cognitive impairment in Veterans with and without Alzheimer’s disease.