Emotional Loneliness Is Related to Objective Cognitive Function in Older People With HIV in the Washington-Baltimore Area: A Cross-sectional Study

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 ≥ aged 50). Forty-two participants (mean age = 61.5 years; 48% male; 74% Black) completed the 6-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.