BACKGROUND: Currently, there is no curative treatment for dementia. The implementation of preventive measures is of great importance. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and address individual and modifiable risk factors. Social isolation, defined through social networks, is a factor that may influence the onset and progression of the disease. The networks of older people are mostly composed of either family or friends. The aim of this study is to examine the influence of social isolation and network composition on cognition over the course of 12 months in people with cognitive impairment.
METHODS: Data basis is the multicentre, prospective, longitudinal register study \'Digital Dementia Registery Bavaria-digiDEM Bayern\'. The degree of social isolation was assessed using the Lubben Social Network Scale- Revised (LSNS-R) and the degree of cognitive impairment using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), conducted at baseline and after 12 months. Data were analysed using pre-post ANCOVA, adjusted for baseline MMSE, age, gender, education, living situation and Barthel-Index.
RESULTS: 106 subjects (78.9 ± 8.2 years; 66% female) were included in the analysis. The mean MMSE score at baseline was 24.3 (SD = 3.6). Within the friendship subscore, risk for social isolation was highly prevalent (42.5%). Though, there was no difference between individuals with higher/ lower risk of social isolation within the friendship-network after adjusting for common risk factors in cognitive decline over time, F (1,98) = .046, p = .831, partial η2 = .000.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study showed that the risk of social isolation from friends is very high among people with cognitive impairment. However, social isolation does not appear to have a bearing influence on the course of cognition. Nevertheless, it is important for people with cognitive impairment to promote and maintain close social contacts with friends.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have revealed associations between sleep quality and mental health, yet the comprehensive role of sleep quality, daytime dysfunction, social exclusion, and self-control in difficulties with emotion regulation remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate how sleep quality affects emotion regulation difficulties among middle school students through pathways involving daytime dysfunction, social exclusion, and self-control, thereby providing a more comprehensive theoretical basis for mental health interventions.
METHODS: Utilizing the pittsburgh sleep quality index, the adolescent social exclusion scale, the brief self-control scale, and emotion regulation scale-short form, we assessed 1067 students randomly selected from four middle schools from October to November 2023. After the removal of extreme values (those exceeding 3 standard deviations), 806 students were retained for data analysis.
RESULTS: Our findings indicate that poor sleep quality significantly contributes to increased daytime dysfunction(β = 0.86, SE = 0.07, p < .001), which in turn affects social exclusion(β = 0.60, SE = 0.16, p < 0 0.001), self-control abilities(β = 1.27, SE = 0.16, p < .001) and emotion regulation difficulties(β = 1.56, SE = 0.30, p < .001). Social exclusion mediates the relationship between sleep quality and emotion regulation difficulties(Estimate = 0.11, SE = 0.04, 95% CI [0.04, 0.20] ).
CONCLUSIONS: The aim of this study is to provide new insights into the development of effective intervention measures to improve sleep and mental health in adolescents.

This article examines how employees use gossip as a resource to cope with social isolation. Building on a qualitative study with 32 truck drivers in a Western European company, our research identified gossip in close relationships and gossip in distant relationships as distinct patterns playing a different role in coping with social isolation, and a third pattern in which gossip was not beneficial. First, gossiping with close friends at work helped drivers engage in emotion-focused coping by reducing stress and loneliness. Second, gossiping with distant colleagues helped drivers engage in problem-focused coping by exchanging knowledge involving people in the organization. Third, gossip avoidance occurred in distant relationships, where drivers limited gossip exchanges going beyond instrumentally useful information. Overall, these findings show that drivers relied on different layers of their social network to cope with social isolation. Enriching previous research, this study shows that gossip represents an essential resource for emotion-focused and problem-focused coping.

BACKGROUND: Past research has suggested a cross-sectional association between COVID-19-related discrimination and PTSD symptom severity. However, no cohort study has examined the longitudinal association that better supports causal interpretation. Also, even if such an association genuinely exists, the specific pathway remains unclear.
METHODS: We conducted a two-year follow-up study, obtaining data from healthcare workers in a hospital setting. We first evaluated how COVID-19-related discrimination in 2021 was associated with subsequent PTSD symptom severity in 2023. Thereafter, we conducted causal mediation analysis to examine how this association was mediated by psychological distress in 2022, accounting for exposure-mediator interaction. Missing data were handled using random forest imputation.
RESULTS: A total of 660 hospital staff were included. The fully adjusted model showed greater PTSD symptom severity in individuals who experienced any COVID-19-related discrimination compared with those without such experiences (β, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.04-0.90). Regarding each type of discrimination, perceived discrimination was associated with greater PTSD symptom severity (β, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.08-0.96), whereas verbal discrimination did not reach statistical significance. Psychological distress mediated 28.1%-38.8% of the observed associations.
CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19-related discrimination is associated with subsequent PTSD symptom severity in healthcare workers. Psychological distress may serve as an important mediator, underscoring the potential need for interventions targeting this factor.

UNASSIGNED: Adolescence is a period in which mental health problems emerge. Research suggests that the COVID-19 lockdown may have worsened emotional and behavioral health.
UNASSIGNED: To examine whether socioeconomic status was associated with mental health outcomes among youths during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNASSIGNED: The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is a multisite 10-year longitudinal study of youth neurocognitive development in the US. Recruitment was staggered where the baseline visit (ages 9 to 10 years) occurred from 2016 to 2018, and visits occurred yearly. The COVID-19 lockdown halted research collection during the 2-year follow-up visits (ages 11 to 12 years), but eventually resumed. As some youths already underwent their 2-year visits prior to lockdown, this allowed for a natural experiment-like design to compare prepandemic and intrapandemic groups. Thus, data were gathered from the 1-year follow-up (pre-COVID-19 lockdown for all youths) and the 2-year follow-up, of which a portion of youths had data collected after the lockdown began, to compare whether a period of near social isolation was associated with mental health symptoms in youths. The prepandemic group consisted of youths with a 2-year follow-up visit collected prior to March 11, 2020, and the intrapandemic group had their 2-year follow-up visit after lockdown restrictions were lifted.
UNASSIGNED: Assessments included measures on income-to-needs ratio (INR; derived from total household income), the Child Behavior Checklist (a measure of mental health symptomology), and the Family Environmental Scale.
UNASSIGNED: The final sample included 10 399 youths; 3947 (52.3%) were male; 2084 (20.3%) were Latinx/Hispanic; 6765 (66.0%) were White; 4600 (44.2%) reported caregiver education levels below a 4-year college degree; and 2475 (26.2%) had INR either below 100% (indicating poverty) or between 100% and less than 200% (near poverty). Among youths in the intrapandemic group, worse mental health symptoms (eg, more total problems, greater depression, and greater anxiety) over time were associated with being from a household with higher socioeconomic status (eg, when comparing individuals who differed by 1 unit on INR between prepandemic and intrapandemic groups from 1-year to 2-year follow-up, their expected difference in total problems score was 0.79 [95% CI, 0.37-1.22]; false discovery rate-corrected P < .001).
UNASSIGNED: This cohort study found that the COVID-19 lockdown was associated with disproportionately negative mental health outcomes among youths from higher socioeconomic status backgrounds. Although this study does not shed light on the direct mechanisms driving these associations, it does provide some support for positive outcomes for youths. Future studies are needed to understand whether these associations persist over longer periods of time.

BACKGROUND: With increasing trend of internet use in all age groups, whether internet use can prevent frailty in middle-aged and older adults remains unclear.
METHODS: Five cohorts, including Health and Retirement Study (HRS), China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), and Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS), were used in this study. Internet use, social isolation, and frailty status was assessed using similar questions. The Generalized estimating equations models, random effects meta-analysis, COX regression, and mediation analysis were utilized.
RESULTS: In the multicohort study, a total of 155,695 participants were included in main analysis. The proportion of internet use was varied across countries, ranging from 5.56% in China (CHARLS) to 83.46% in Denmark (SHARE). According to the generalized estimating equations models and meta-analysis, internet use was inversely associated with frailty, with the pooled ORs (95%CIs) of 0.72 (0.67,0.79). The COX regression also showed that participants with internet use had a lower risk of frailty incidence. Additionally, the association was partially mediated by social isolation and slightly pronounced in participants aged 65 and over, male, not working for payment, not married or partnered, not smoking, drinking, and not co-residence with children.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the important role of internet use in preventing frailty and recommend more engagements in social communication and activities to avoid social isolation among middle-aged and older adults.

UNASSIGNED: Though a worldwide period of uncertainty (COVID-19) has \'ended\', there exists a legacy of maladaptive experiences among people with significant appearance concerns (SAC) that requires care and attention.
UNASSIGNED: Using Giddens\' concept of ontological security, we explored how people experienced their SAC before, during and \"since\" COVID-19. Qualitative surveys allowed us to capture diverse perspectives from individuals transnationally, analysed with deductive reflexive thematic analysis using ontological security as our theoretical foundation.
UNASSIGNED: Themes named \"More Mirror(ed) Time\" and \"Locked Out, Shut Down, and Shut Out\" gave a contextual grounding for the embodied experiences of this group through times of social restrictions, and the theme \"Redefining Relevance\" explored the continued legacy of COVID-19 - and continued global uncertainties such as economic hardship and warfare - that impact the wellbeing of people with SAC.
UNASSIGNED: People with SAC are still \'locked out\' from essential healthcare support as those providing healthcare are overworked, under-resourced and rely on efficient interactive methods such as tele-health that may be triggers for people with SAC. Care providers may consider expanding appearance concerns verbiage, look to involve trusted others in the care-seeking process, and utilize modalities beyond digital health to support people with SAC.

BACKGROUND: Social isolation and loneliness (SIL) worsens mortality and other outcomes among older adults as much as smoking. We previously tested the impact of the HOW R U? intervention using peer support from similar-aged volunteers and demonstrated reduced SIL among older adults discharged from the emergency department (ED). Generativity, defined as \"the interest in establishing and guiding the next generation,\" can provide an alternative theoretical basis for reducing SIL via intergenerational programs between members of younger and older generations. The current protocol will examine the impact of younger intergenerational volunteers providing the HOW RU?
METHODS:
METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, we will compare the following three arms: (1) the standard same-generation peer support HOW R U? intervention, (2) HOW R U? intervention delivered by intergenerational volunteers, and (3) a common wait-list control group. Outcome assessors will be blinded to the intervention. Trained volunteers will deliver 12 weekly telephone support calls. We will recruit participants ≥ 70 years of age with baseline loneliness (six-item De Jong loneliness score of 2 or greater) from two EDs. Research staff will assess SIL, depression, quality of life, functional status, generativity, and perceived benefit at baseline, at 12 weeks, and 24 weeks post-intervention.
CONCLUSIONS: We hypothesize participants receiving the intergenerational intervention will show improved outcomes compared to the control group and peer support HOW R U?
METHODS: We also hypothesize that participants with higher perceptions of generativity will have greater reductions in SIL than their lower generativity counterparts. Aging is experienced diversely, and social interventions combatting associated SIL should reflect that diversity. As part of a program of research following the Obesity-Related Behavioral Intervention Trials (ORBIT) model, the findings of this RCT will be used to define which intervention characteristics are most effective in reducing SIL.
BACKGROUND: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05998343 Protocol ID:21-0074E. Registered on 24 July 2023.

(1) Background: The effects of short-term social isolation during adulthood have not yet been fully established in rats behaviourally, and not at all transcriptomically in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). (2) Methods: We measured the behavioural effects of housing adult male rats in pairs or alone for 10 days. We also used RNA sequencing to measure the accompanying gene expression alterations in the mPFC of male rats. (3) Results: The isolated animals exhibited reduced sociability and social novelty preference, but increased social interaction. There was no change in their aggression, anxiety, or depression-like activity. Transcriptomic analysis revealed a differential expression of 46 genes between the groups. The KEGG pathway analysis showed that differentially expressed genes are involved in neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions, particularly in the dopaminergic and peptidergic systems, and addiction. Subsequent validation confirmed the decreased level of three altered genes: regulator of G protein signalling 9 (Rgs9), serotonin receptor 2c (Htr2c), and Prodynorphin (Pdyn), which are involved in dopaminergic, serotonergic, and peptidergic function, respectively. Antagonizing Htr2c confirmed its role in social novelty discrimination. (4) Conclusions: Social homeostatic regulations include monoaminergic and peptidergic systems of the mPFC.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the mechanisms of interventions addressing loneliness and social isolation in older adults living in nursing homes through the involvement of primary and secondary informal caregivers.
METHODS: This scoping review was performed by two independent reviewers, covering the period between 2011 and 2022 and the databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Scopus. It included terms related to (A) informal caregivers, (B) nursing homes, (C) psychosocial interventions, (D) involvement and (E) social isolation or loneliness.
RESULTS: Thirty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Although there were various definitions and assessment tools related to social isolation and loneliness, the studies referred to three dimensions of these concepts in nursing home residents: the quantity of social interactions, the perception of these encounters and biographical changes in social relationships. Most studies did not explicate the mechanisms of these interventions. The review uncovered the following aspects of intervention mechanisms: increasing opportunities for social contact, creating meaningful encounters, maintaining existing relationships with primary informal caregivers and establishing new ones with secondary informal caregivers.
CONCLUSIONS: Studies reporting on interventions addressing loneliness and social isolation in nursing home residents need to clarify and detail their intervention mechanisms in order to foster more targeted interventions. In addition, there is a need for further research on large-scale programs or care philosophies in this field and the development of intervention designs, which allow for tailored intervention formats in order to respond to the individual perception of social relationships.