Loneliness predicts stronger negative associations between cerebrovascular, but not Alzheimer’s, pathology and cognition

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and cerebrovascular disease are the two most common pathologies underlying dementia. Loneliness is associated with faster cognitive decline and greater AD risk independent of pathology. Risk reduction efforts would benefit from knowing whether loneliness exacerbates the cognitive impact of pathology. Our objective was to characterize the interaction between loneliness and AD or cerebrovascular pathology on cognitive performance.