How social isolation affects aging and health in people with schizophrenia
Official title: The impact of social isolation on aging health in schizophrenia
Funded at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · NIH-11371749 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is tracking whether loneliness and lack of social contact are linked to earlier health problems in older adults living with schizophrenia.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2022 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $102,812 |
| NIH project number | 3R01MH128971-04S4 |
| Project ID | NIH-11371749 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults diagnosed with schizophrenia, especially those who are older or approaching age 65, are the primary candidates for this work.
✕Less likely to help
People without schizophrenia or much younger adults are unlikely to directly benefit from the study's findings.
What this research studies
You would join a group of about 650 people (around 500 with schizophrenia and 150 comparison participants) enrolled from sites in Europe and the U.S. Researchers will collect information about your social contacts, health conditions, medications, and other health-related measures and follow you over time. They will combine these records into a single longitudinal database to look for patterns connecting social isolation with earlier onset of age-related medical problems. The team aims to use these patterns to pinpoint ways to help people with schizophrenia stay healthier as they age.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could identify loneliness as a modifiable risk factor and lead to strategies to reduce premature health problems in people with schizophrenia.
How similar studies have gone: Smaller pilot studies have suggested links between social isolation and worse long-term health in schizophrenia, but this larger longitudinal effort is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Reichenberg, Abraham — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Reichenberg, Abraham
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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How social isolation affects aging health in schizophrenia
This project explores how being socially isolated may speed up health problems as people with schizophrenia age.
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How Social Isolation Impacts Aging in People with Schizophrenia
This study looks at how social isolation affects aging and health in people with schizophrenia to see if loneliness and lack of social contact worsen medical problems as they grow older.
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How social isolation affects aging health in schizophrenia
A patient-friendly look at how being socially isolated might influence aging and health in people with schizophrenia.
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The effect of social isolation on aging health in people with schizophrenia
This study explores how being socially isolated may speed up aging-related health problems in people with schizophrenia.
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How social isolation affects aging health in schizophrenia
This research looks at how being isolated socially might influence health and aging in people with schizophrenia.
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Social connections and health in older adults with schizophrenia
This project will look at whether being socially isolated speeds up health problems as people with schizophrenia get older.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.