Connect with us

Health

Marine vet touts benefits of psychedelic-assisted PTSD drugs as FDA considers MDMA approval

Published

on

Marine vet touts benefits of psychedelic-assisted PTSD drugs as FDA considers MDMA approval

Read this article for free!

Plus get unlimited access to thousands of articles, videos and more with your free account!

Please enter a valid email address.

By entering your email, you are agreeing to Fox News Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. To access the content, check your email and follow the instructions provided.

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

PTSD sufferers might soon have a new avenue of relief.

Advertisement

A drug application for psychedelic-assisted therapies has been filed by Lykos Therapeutics, formerly MAPS PBC, for FDA approval.

As of Dec. 12, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had 60 days to respond with its long-awaited verdict, according to a Jan. 10 news release from Lykos, which is based in California.

VETERAN HOMELESSNESS SEES LARGEST SPIKE IN 12 YEARS, VA REPORTS: ‘WE HAVE FAILED,’ LAMENTS ARMY VET

If approved, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would have to reschedule (recategorize) MDMA — also known as ecstasy — to make it legal for prescription medical use.

The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) also announced on Jan. 5 that it’s released proposals for VA researchers to study the use of psychedelic compounds, including MDMA and psilocybin (magic mushrooms), when used in conjunction with psychotherapy to treat PTSD and depression.

Advertisement

Both MDMA and psilocybin-assisted therapies (also known as ecstasy and magic mushrooms) will be studied by the VA. (iStock)

The VA confirmed in an email to Fox News Digital that this research will be the first of its kind since the 1960s.

While some people have hesitations, a 16-year Marine Corps veteran, Juliana Mercer, has been a leading advocate of psychedelic-assisted therapies in treating mental health challenges.

Mercer, who lives in San Diego, is director of veteran advocacy and public policy at Healing Breakthrough, an organization aiming to get MDMA-assisted therapy adopted into the VA system.

VET WHO LOST MILITARY ‘BROTHERS’ TO POST-WAR SUICIDE CALLS FOR URGENT CHANGE: ‘WE COULD DO BETTER’

Advertisement

In an interview with Fox News Digital, the veteran noted that MDMA therapy has been shown to be 71% effective in eliminating PTSD in two Phase 3 clinical trials.

Mercer anticipates hearing back from the FDA “very soon” on its decision — and said she hopes the agency will green-light the drug.

Marine Corps veteran Juliana Mercer of San Diego has been a leading advocate for psychedelic-assisted therapies in treating mental health challenges. “MDMA is the tip of the spear,” she said. “I’m so excited about it.” (Juliana Mercer)

“We’re fairly certain and optimistic that it will be approved,” she said. “And once that happens, there’s some more paperwork that needs to be done in anticipating MDMA to be prescribed by health care providers in mid- to late 2024.”

When contacted for comment, the FDA told Fox News Digital that it cannot discuss the existence of, or status of, any pending applications.

Advertisement

‘Overnight’ healing

Mercer, who spent deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, struggled with PTSD until it “came to a head” in 2019, she said.

SINGER GAVIN DEGRAW SURPRISES US SOLDIERS WITH RESCUE PETS THROUGH PAWS OF WAR INITIATIVE

The veteran sought talk therapy, which helped her to “not feel so alone” — but it didn’t help “tackle the problem” at its root, she noted.

After being introduced to a Florida nonprofit, Heroic Hearts Project, Mercer was able to access psychedelic therapy outside the U.S.

Mercer (pictured at right on deployment) said she believes it is “important” for the VA to be prepared to roll out this program “once it is FDA-approved.” (Juliana Mercer)

Advertisement

“After that healing that was almost overnight, in conjunction with the talk therapy that I was doing and with a psychedelic coach, I was able to get to the root cause, and also regain my joy and my love and go back to working with the veteran community,” she told Fox News Digital.

Mercer said her experience became the “catalyst” for her advocacy for therapy access, as she recently testified during a Nov. 14 hearing on Capitol Hill.

AI TECH IDENTIFIES SUICIDE RISK IN MILITARY VETERANS BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE: ‘FLIPPING THE MODEL’

She addressed the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs about the efficacy of these therapies, claiming that the trial results “cannot be outstated.”

Mercer told Fox News Digital that she believes it is “such a huge injustice” that there “isn’t anything working” in the U.S. for struggling vets.

Advertisement

“I felt like I needed to shout it from the rooftops and figure out a way to get this available to my veteran brothers and sisters,” she said.

“The suicide epidemic is killing us at a rate higher than the death rate of 20 years of war,” Mercer added. “We’re losing over 6,000 veterans a year to suicide.”

Seventeen veterans die by suicide each day, according to data from the VA. (iStock)

In a press release discussing the rollout of psychedelic research, VA Secretary Denis McDonough wrote that America’s veterans “deserve the very best care, and VA is constantly supporting innovations to deliver that.” 

He added, “This is an important step to explore the efficacy of a potential new set of promising treatments that could improve the health and quality of life for veterans.”

Advertisement

MILITARY MENTAL HEALTH IN FOCUS AS AI TRAINING SIMULATES REAL CONVERSATIONS TO HELP PREVENT VETERAN SUICIDE

Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the VA’s under-secretary for health, commented in the same release that veterans and VA researchers have been vocal about the “potential promise of psychedelics to treat mental health conditions for some time.”

“Now is our chance to study this potential method of treating veterans with PTSD and major depression across the country,” he wrote.

Juliana Mercer on Capitol Hill in Nov. 2023 advocated for psychedelic-assisted therapies in front of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. (Juliana Mercer)

MDMA therapy is the first of these novel treatments to be considered for FDA approval, Mercer detailed, claiming that two-thirds of patients no longer qualify for PTSD diagnosis after treatment.

Advertisement

ARMY VETERAN SAYS FAITH IN GOD SAVED HIS LIFE AFTER 12 SUICIDE ATTEMPTS: ‘SOMETHING STRONGER THAN MYSELF’

Another psychedelic option is psilocybin, also known as “magic mushrooms.”

It has also shown promising results upon entering Phase 3 clinical trials.

Psilocybin, or magic mushrooms, has just entered Phase 3 clinical trials. (iStock)

Since the approval of psilocybin-assisted therapies could be “a few years down the road,” Mercer said MDMA’s potential approval is the “tip of the spear” when it comes to saving veterans’ lives.

Advertisement

How it works

MDMA medication is administered orally inside a clinic during an approximate eight-hour session, according to Mercer, with the guidance of a mental health care provider.

The patient undergoes talk therapy for a month before receiving the medication — and then for another month afterward.

ON PTSD AWARENESS DAY, IMPORTANT HELP FOR VETERANS, MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS IN SEARCH OF BETTER SLEEP

The VA is looking into expanding talk therapy options beyond one-on-one sessions, to include group conversations and sessions with significant others, Mercer pointed out.

Dr. Yuval Neria, director of Columbia University’s PTSD Research and Treatment Program in New York, shared his optimism about this mode of therapy with Fox News Digital.

Advertisement

A global expert on PTSD, Dr. Yuval Neria is professor of medical psychology at the Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. He said there is “an acute lack of effective treatments” for America’s veterans with PTSD. (Yuval Neria)

“Veterans with PTSD suffer from a multitude of interpersonal problems, including PTSD, depression, severe difficulties in relationships with their partners, functional impairment and suicide,” he said. “Yet there is an acute lack of effective treatments, particularly in VA settings.”

Some PTSD therapies that are considered the “gold standard” require veterans to “relive their traumas,” said Neria, which is “not preferable among many.”

“As a result, there is a high dropout rate of traditional talk therapies (36% to 68% depending on modality),” he noted.

FISHING TRIPS FOR VETERANS: NONPROFIT BOOSTS HEROES’ MENTAL HEALTH WITH ‘CALMING EXPERIENCE’

Advertisement

The FDA’s potential approval of MDMA-involved treatment represents a “promising step,” Neria said.

“Many veterans seek a larger ‘transcendent’ experience to counter their trauma experience,” he said. “They seek to hit the ‘reset’ button, and hope that psychedelics rapidly do that, with little effort on the veteran’s part.” 

One veteran pointed out the “stigma” around both MDMA and psilocybin, as the drugs have been criminalized by the government after their breakout in the “party scene” during the 1970s and 1980s. (iStock)

“MDMA seems to synergistically improve not only the symptoms of PTSD, but also the relational context among PTSD patients, their partners and family members, allowing sustained improvement through enhanced and strengthened relationships,” he added.

Breaking the ‘party drug’ stigma

Mercer said she believes that any skepticism around the benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapies could be due to its criminalization after it broke out in the “party scene” during the 1970s and 1980s.

Advertisement

“Our government, instead of trying to figure out how to keep it safe or keep it in clinics, just scheduled it,” she said. “So, there’s a stigma around MDMA and psilocybin.”

(The DEA puts drugs into different categories, or schedules, to designate their “acceptable medical use or dependency potential.”)

“The tough conversations have been easier now that we have science that backs up the efficacy and safety of these types of substances,” Mercer also said.

Risks and benefits

While Mercer predicts that FDA approval could eradicate some stigma and educate the public, she encourages veterans to “do their research” before partaking in psychedelic-assisted treatments.

Advertisement

“Also, talk to other veterans who have undergone the process,” Mercer advised. “There are a lot of communities out there … that can help veterans navigate and answer questions.”

U.S. Marine Juliana Mercer is pictured during deployment in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2010. (Juliana Mercer)

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, recently interviewed two of the country’s top researchers on psychedelics — Dr. Rachel Yehuda, founder and director of the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research at Mt. Sinai in New York, and Dr. Charles Marmar, director of the PTSD research program at NYU Langone.

“They agree there is therapeutic potential if very carefully studied under very strict medical guidance, but there is a huge downside in terms of unregulated recreational uses,” Siegel told Fox News Digital.

Two of the country’s top experts in psychedelics see “likely therapeutic value if carefully managed by medical experts,” noted Dr. Marc Siegel of New York. (iStock)

Advertisement

Yehuda said part of the effect could be from the out-of-body hallucinatory experience, while Marmar said the benefit is purely pharmacological and that the same impact can be gained without the high, Siegel relayed.

“Both doctors see likely therapeutic value to psychedelics if carefully managed by medical experts,” Siegel added.

Hopeful for change

“We’ve thrown so much at this problem, whether it’s helping with employment or education, recreational activities, getting them engaged with their communities – and nothing has moved the needle on this mental health care crisis,” Mercer told Fox News Digital.

As rates of veteran suicide and homelessness continue to rise, the veteran suggested that MDMA-assisted therapy could be “the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Advertisement

Mercer predicted, “I think that once we’re able to heal our veterans of their PTSD and other mental health conditions, we’ll see a drop in suicides and homelessness … and we’ll see veterans being employed and part of their communities and becoming leaders again.”

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

Health

Cancer tied to woman’s vaping habit since age 15 as she’s now given just months to live

Published

on

Cancer tied to woman’s vaping habit since age 15 as she’s now given just months to live

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A young woman who started vaping at the age of 15 has been given just 18 months to live — after being diagnosed with lung cancer in her early 20s. 

Kayley Boda, 22, of Manchester, in the United Kingdom, was engaging in heavy vaping on a regular basis when she started coughing up a brown substance with “grainy bits” in it in January 2025, news agency SWNS reported. 

The retail assistant said doctors turned her away eight times, telling her she had a chest infection — until she began coughing up blood.    

SMOKING AND VAPING MAY BE BANNED AT ONE STATE’S MOST POPULAR BEACHES AND PARKS: HERE’S WHY

Advertisement

After seven biopsies, Boda was diagnosed with lung cancer. She underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, as well as chemotherapy — and in February 2026, got the all-clear, the same source reported.

Two months later, though, doctors said the cancer had come back in the pleural lining. Now she’s been given 18 months to live.

Kayley Boda, 22, is shown in the hospital. She started coughing up a brown substance with “grainy bits” in January 2025, she said. She had been vaping since the age of 15.  (SWNS)

The young woman has now issued a warning to others to be aware of the dangers of vaping.

Boda said she smoked a bit as a young teenager. She took up vaping after that. 

Advertisement

Then, “a few months after I switched from reusable vapes to disposable ones, I started coughing up brown, grainy mucus,” as SWNS reported.

TOURISTS MAY FACE STEEP FINES AND JAIL TIME FOR VAPES AT THIS VACATION HOT SPOT

“Doctors turned me away eight times with a chest infection. … Then I started coughing up blood, so they did an X-ray and found a shadow on my lung,” she added.

“They told me they were 99% sure, [since I was] so young, that it wasn’t cancer, so not to worry about it. When I got the results back, and they told me it was lung cancer, it felt so surreal.”

Boda said she was “very naive” before her diagnosis and thought that “something like this would never happen to me.”

Advertisement

She said that she had surgery to remove half of her right lung.

“After the surgery, I started chemo and I had a terrible reaction to it. I couldn’t lift my head up. I was throwing up blood. I was urinating blood. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep.”

VACATION HOT SPOT CRACKS DOWN ON VAPING WITH JAIL THREATS AND HEFTY FINES

She said that when she got the “all clear [in Feb. 2026], it felt amazing, but just two months later I was told the cancer had come back, and I have 18 months to live.”

She added, “I’m 22. This isn’t meant to happen to somebody my age.”

Advertisement

“Stay off the vapes because they will catch up with you.”  

She blames her cancer on vaping, she said.  

“My symptoms started a few months after I started disposable vapes, and there’s no lung cancer in my family,” she said. “I haven’t vaped for three months, I’ve made my partner stop, I’ve made my mom stop, I’m urging all my friends to stop. Stay off the vapes,” she continued, “because they will catch up with you.”  

When doctors did an X-ray, they found a shadow on Boda’s right lung. She was later diagnosed with lung cancer and has undergone surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, as well as chemotherapy. (SWNS)

She said she’d been using reusable vapes since the age of 15 and began using disposable vapes a few months before her cancer symptoms started.

Advertisement

DISPOSABLE VAPES MORE TOXIC AND CARCINOGENIC THAN CIGARETTES, STUDY SHOWS

In November 2024, when she developed a rash all over her body, doctors said it could have been due to shingles, chicken pox or scabies, she told SWNS.    

‘Nothing worked’

“I got treated for all three, and nothing worked,” Boda said. “It got to the point where I was cutting myself from scratching so hard.” 

A few months after that, she began coughing up a dark brown mucus, with “grainy bits, the consistency of sugar, in it,” she said. When the coughing continued, she visited the doctor’s office, but was told it could be scarring from pneumonia or a chest infection, she also said.    

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

Advertisement

It wasn’t until March 2025 that she began coughing up bright red blood. At that point, doctors gave her a chest X-ray and told her they’d found a shadow on her lower right lung.    

Over the next four months, she had seven biopsies as doctors took samples from the “shadow.” In August, when she went to get the results, she was told she had stage one lung cancer.

Boda is shown in the hospital. She was diagnosed with lung cancer and had surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, as well as chemotherapy. (SWNS)

In September 2025, she had surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, and the surrounding lymph nodes. During the surgery, doctors upstaged her cancer from stage one to stage three after finding cancer in six surrounding lymph nodes, she said.  

Following the surgery, Boda was unable to breathe properly and had to learn to walk all over again.  

Advertisement

“The oncologist said this is so rare.”

After finishing chemotherapy in February 2026, Kayley was given the all clear, leaving her feeling elated. 

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

However, just a month after that, she began experiencing extreme chest pains and was told by doctors she had a pleural effusion — a build-up of fluid in the lungs. She had the fluid removed, but when doctors tested it, they discovered her cancer had returned to the pleural lining of her lungs, giving her 18 months to live.  

“The oncologist said this is so rare, and usually something they see in patients that are 80 years old,” she said, as SWNS reported.  

Advertisement

Increasingly, vacation hot spots are enforcing strict bans on the use of e-cigarettes in public venues.  (iStock)

Boda claimed that doctors were unable to pin her cancer to a specific cause — but told her that smoking and vaping definitely didn’t help.

Since her diagnosis, she has stopped and is urging others to stop, too.    

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

She’s hoping to raise the thousands of dollars needed for treatment to try to prolong her life, she said.  

Advertisement

Last year, Fox News Digital reported on the case of a Pennsylvania woman, 26, who said she vaped for just one year before her lungs collapsed. She was 22 when she took up the habit, she said in an interview. 

“Everybody warned me about it, but I didn’t listen — I wish that I did,” she said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH ARTICLES

Dr. David Campbell, clinical director and program director at Recover Together Bend in Oregon, told Fox News Digital at that time that signs of collapsed lungs include sharp chest or shoulder pain, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.

Lung issues are just one of the many health issues linked to vaping, he warned. The habit can also increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as exposure to harmful heavy metals.

Advertisement

Melissa Rudy of Fox News Digital contributed reporting. 

Continue Reading

Health

Experts reveal why ‘nonnamaxxing’ trend may improve mental, physical health

Published

on

Experts reveal why ‘nonnamaxxing’ trend may improve mental, physical health

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The key to feeling better in a fast, overstimulated world might be surprisingly simple: Live a little more like your grandparents.

A growing social media trend, dubbed “nonnamaxxing,” draws inspiration from the slower, more intentional rhythms associated with an Italian grandmother.

The lifestyle is often linked to activities like preparing home-cooked meals, spending time outdoors and making meaningful connections.

MARTHA STEWART SHARES 7 TIPS FOR AGING WELL: ‘LOOK GOOD, FEEL GOOD, BE GOOD’

Advertisement

“Nonnamaxxing is a 2026 trend that embraces the slower, more intentional lifestyle of an Italian grandmother (a Nonna). Think cooking from scratch, long family meals, daily walks, gardening and less screen time,” Erin Palinski-Wade, a New Jersey-based registered dietitian, told Fox News Digital.

Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)

Stepping away from screens and toward real-world interaction can have measurable benefits, according to California-based psychotherapist Laurie Singer.

“We know that interacting with others in person, rather than spending time on screens, significantly improves mental health,” she told Fox News Digital, adding that social media often fuels comparison and lowers self-esteem.

LONELINESS MAY BE SILENTLY ERODING YOUR MEMORY, NEW RESEARCH REVEALS

Advertisement

Living more like previous generations isn’t purely driven by nostalgia. Cooking meals from scratch, for example, has been linked to better nutrition and more mindful eating patterns.

Adopting traditional mealtime habits can improve diet quality and support both physical and mental health, especially when meals are shared regularly with others, Palinski-Wade noted.

One longevity expert stresses that staying healthy isn’t just about food — it’s also about joy and community. (iStock)

There’s also a psychological benefit to slowing down and focusing on one task at a time. Anxiety often stems from unfinished or avoided tasks, Singer noted, and engaging in hands-on activities can counteract that.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

Advertisement

“Nonnamaxxing encourages us to be present around a task, like gardening, baking or knitting, or just taking a mindful walk, that delivers something ‘real,’” she said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

Palinski-Wade cautions against turning the trend into another source of pressure, noting that a traditional “nonna” lifestyle often assumes a different pace of life.

The key, she said, is adapting the mindset, not replicating it perfectly.

Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)

Advertisement

The goal is to reintroduce small, intentional moments that make you feel better.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

That might mean prioritizing a few shared meals each week, taking a walk without your phone or setting aside time for a simple hobby, the expert recommended.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Singer added, “Having a positive place to escape to, through whatever activities speak to us and make us happy, isn’t generational – it’s human.”

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Health

Loneliness may be silently eroding your memory, new research reveals

Published

on

Loneliness may be silently eroding your memory, new research reveals

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Feeling lonely may take a toll on older adults’ memory — but it may not speed up cognitive decline, according to a new study.

Researchers from Colombia, Spain and Sweden analyzed data from more than 10,000 adults ages 65 to 94 across 12 European countries and found those who reported higher levels of loneliness did worse on memory tests at the start of the study, according to research published this month in the journal Aging & Mental Health.

Over a seven-year period, however, memory decline occurred at a similar rate regardless of how lonely participants felt.

GRANDPARENTS WHO BABYSIT THEIR GRANDCHILDREN STAY MENTALLY SHARPER, NEW STUDY REVEALS

Advertisement

“The finding that loneliness significantly impacted memory, but not the speed of decline in memory over time was a surprising outcome,” lead author Dr. Luis Carlos Venegas-Sanabria of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Universidad del Rosario said in a statement.

Loneliness may be linked to memory performance in older adults, a new study suggests. (iStock)

“It suggests that loneliness may play a more prominent role in the initial state of memory than in its progressive decline,” Venegas-Sanabria said, adding that the findings highlight the importance of addressing loneliness as a factor in cognitive performance.

The findings add to debate about whether loneliness contributes to dementia risk. While loneliness and social isolation are often considered risk factors for cognitive decline, research results have been mixed.

EXPERTS REVEAL HIDDEN LINK BETWEEN POOR SLEEP AND ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE RISK

Advertisement

The study looked at data from the long-running Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which tracked 10,217 older adults between 2012 and 2019. Participants were asked to recall words immediately and after a delay to measure memory performance.

Social isolation and loneliness could play a surprising role in cognitive health among seniors. (iStock)

Loneliness was assessed using three questions about how often participants felt isolated, left out or lacking companionship.

About 8% of participants reported high levels of loneliness at the outset. That group tended to be older, more likely to be female and more likely to have conditions such as depression.

DEMENTIA RISK SIGNALS COULD LIE IN SIMPLE BLOOD PRESSURE READINGS, SAY RESEARCHERS

Advertisement

Researchers found that those with higher loneliness had lower scores on both immediate and delayed memory tests at baseline. Still, all groups — regardless of loneliness level — experienced similar declines in memory over time.

The results suggest loneliness may not directly accelerate the progression of memory loss, though it remains linked to poorer cognitive performance overall.

Researchers look at a brain scan at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Experts warn, however, that the findings should not be interpreted to mean loneliness is harmless.

Advertisement

“The finding that lonely older adults start with worse memory but don’t decline faster is actually the most interesting part of the paper, and I think it’s easy to misread,” said Jordan Weiss, Ph.D., a scientific advisor and aging expert at Assisted Living Magazine and a professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

“It likely means loneliness does its damage earlier in life, well before people show up in a study like this at 65-plus,” Weiss told Fox News Digital.

By older age, long-term social patterns may already be established, making it harder to detect when the effects of loneliness first took hold, an aging expert says. (iStock)

He suggested that by older age, long-term social patterns may already be established, making it harder to detect when the effects of loneliness first took hold.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

Advertisement

“By the time you’re measuring someone in their late 60s, decades of social connection patterns are already baked in,” he said.

Weiss, who was not involved in the research, added that loneliness may coincide with other health conditions, and noted that participants who felt more isolated also had higher rates of depression, high-blood pressure and diabetes. The link, he said, may reflect a cluster of health risks rather than a direct cause.

“While they can go hand-in-hand, it’s not clear that loneliness contributes to dementia,” a psychotherapist says. (iStock)

Amy Morin, a Florida-based psychotherapist and author, said the findings reflect a broader pattern in research on loneliness and brain health, and that the relationship may be more complex than it appears.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

“The evidence shows there’s a link between loneliness and cognitive decline but there’s no direct evidence of a cause and effect relationship,” she said. “So while they can go hand-in-hand, it’s not clear that loneliness contributes to dementia.”

Morin added that loneliness, which can fluctuate, may not be the root of the problem, but rather a symptom of other underlying mental or physical health issues.

Researchers suggested screening for loneliness be incorporated into routine cognitive assessments as one way to support healthy aging. (iStock)

She said staying socially and mentally engaged is crucial for overall brain health.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

Advertisement

“It’s important to be proactive about social activities,” Morin said. “Joining a book club, having coffee with a friend, or attending faith-based services can be a powerful way to maintain connections in older age.”

The researchers also suggested screening for loneliness be incorporated into routine cognitive assessments as one way to support healthy aging.

Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending