It is your social life that can affect your health, and this is confirmed by new research. A recent study showed just how important it is social connection for long-term well-being, especially when it comes to health.

The results of the study published in the "Journal of the American Geriatrics Society" (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) reveal that social isolation is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia. The study followed about 5.000 healthy people over the age of 65. About 23 percent of the participants did not participate much in social life.

Social isolation was measured depending on whether the person lived alone, whether they talked about important things with friends in the past year, or whether they participated in some events. Those who gave negative answers to all questions are in the group of socially isolated.

Over the next nine years, the researchers periodically performed cognitive tests on the subjects, and about 21 percent of the subjects developed dementia during that time. But in the group of those who are socially isolated, dementia developed in as many as 26 percent of cases.

According to the writing of the study, a poor social life is common, so in America every fourth person knows what it means, and apart from dementia, it is also associated with other dangerous conditions such as heart disease, stroke and depression, states the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dementia is a term used to describe the process of decline in mental abilities, which is strong enough to interfere with daily life. Although many think it is, dementia is not a disease, but a term that describes a group of symptoms related to the loss of memory and other skills important for thinking.