Loneliness in XXXX and its association with cognitive function and symptom profile.

@entity1 @entity308 @entity4750 @entity4270 @entity48451 @entity914 @entity392 @entity716 @entity393
BACKGROUND: Loneliness involves subjective, rather than objective, social isolation and has a range of negative effects on mental and physical functioning. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of loneliness in @entity914 and its association with symptoms and cognitive performance. METHOD: Data were drawn from the second Australian National Survey of @entity716 and comprised responses from 1642 @entity1 with an International Classification of Diseases 10 diagnosis of @entity914 who had completed a semi-structured interview of symptoms and social functioning (including loneliness), along with standardized assessments of current (digit symbol coding; @entity48451 ) and premorbid (National Adult Reading Test) cognitive ability. We examined the prevalence of loneliness across the diagnostic categories of @entity716 , and its association with @entity716 and non- @entity716 symptoms and digit symbol coding scores. RESULTS: The prevalence of loneliness was high, ranging from 74.75% in @entity1 with @entity4750 to 93.8% in @entity308 , and was significantly higher than in the general population. Loneliness was also significantly associated with @entity4270 and @entity392 . @entity1 feeling socially isolated/lonely for company had significantly lower @entity48451 scores than those who only felt lonely occasionally. Unexpectedly, @entity1 who reported not feeling lonely had the lowest @entity48451 scores. CONCLUSIONS: Loneliness is common across all @entity914 , particularly in @entity308 . It is specifically associated with ongoing @entity393 and disordered thoughts as well as impairment in current cognitive functioning. However, poor cognitive functioning is not inevitably associated with loneliness. Implications for personalized treatment of @entity716 are discussed.
