Feeling lonely may affect how well older adults remember things, but it does not appear to make memory decline happen faster over time. This conclusion comes from a large European study that followed more than 10,000 people over a seven-year period. At the start of the study, participants who reported higher levels of loneliness scored lower on memory tests. However, over the years, their memory declined at about the same rate as those who did not feel lonely. Large Study Across Europe The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Aging & Mental Health and are based on data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). This long-running study included 10,217 adults between the ages of 65 and 94 from 12 European countries. Loneliness is increasingly recognized as a major public health concern because of its links to lifespan, physical health, mental health, and overall well-being.…