Loneliness among elderly people living in Stockholm: a population study

Abstract

The purpose was to investigate experienced loneliness among the elderly. The material included 1725 people, aged 75 and over. The study describes relationships between loneliness, social network, cognitive function and health. Thirty-five per cent experienced loneliness, and a higher percentage was found among women. A gradual increase in loneliness was found up to the age of 90, after which a levelling was found. Elderly persons living together with a partner experienced less loneliness. There were no significant differences between those with and without children. Ten per cent reported not having any friends and, of these, one out of two experienced loneliness. A high frequency of experienced loneliness was found among elderly people with reduced cognitive function. Subjectively experienced bad health and loneliness were strongly related to each other, i.e. a person who experienced loneliness did usually not feel completely healthy.

Psychosocial Correlates of Cognitive Function in the Elderly: A Biobehavioral Approach

“…The strongest correlation was found in an inverse relationship between loneliness and cognitive functions including global cognitive function and executive function. These findings are consistent withother studies in older adults,in which greater loneliness has been associated with cognitive deficits (Holmen et al, 1992;Tilvis et al, 2004;Wilson et al, 2007b). In a 10-year follow up, Tilvis et al (2004) found that greaterloneliness was significantly associated with greater risk of cognitive decline at follow up in community dwelling elders.Similarly, ina large cross-sectional study, Holmen et al (1992) found thatgreater loneliness was significantly associated with worse global cognitive function, and that participants living with a spouse, in a close relationship with another person, or actively engaged in activities with meaningful social contacts were less lonely.…”

Loneliness and Social Isolation Among Older Irish People

“…Age is also associated with socia" isolation, with reported correlations between increasing age and increasing social isolation and loneliness (Holmen et al, 1992;Dugan and Kivett, 1994). In this study, the relationship between levels of loneliness in each of the three loneliness subscales and chronological age was examined.…”

“…people, living alone can be a positive experience, especially for those who choose_to do so (Holmen et al, 1992). However, older people in Ireland wish to maintain social contact with relatives and friends , and living alone has been shown to be associated with loneliness among Irish older people (Horkan and Woods, 1986).…”

“…However, this causative relation~hip may be complex. For example, in mild cognitive impairment, loneliness may result from older people avoiding social contact in order to hide their disability (Holmen and Furukawa, 2002), while in the more extreme cognitive impairment of dementia of old age, loneliness may result from older people's communication difficulties and inability to maintain meaningful social contacts (Holmen et al, 1992). Holmen et al (2000) reported that older people with dementia and those with increasing levels of cognitive impairment report higher levels of social loneliness.…”

“…The assumption that older people wish to enlarge their social network may not be true (Moorer and Suurmeijer, 2001). For some people, living alone can be a positive experience, especially for those who choose to do so (Holmen et al, 1992).…”