Risk and Protective Factors of Loneliness among Older Adults: The Significance of Social Isolation and Quality and Type of Contact

Teater, Barbra; Chonody, Jill M.; Davis, Nadia

doi:10.1080/19371918.2020.1866140

Cited by 28 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Twenty-five exposure variables considered to be risk factors for either or both loneliness and/or social isolation were initially selected and grouped as above to create five models observing the potential impacts of (1) demographics; (2) health; (3) place; (4) communications; and connections (5) experiences of bereavement and/or COVID-19, all commonly cited factors in the literature [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. The selected exposure variables combine macro (societal), meso (community/neighbourhood) and micro (individual) risk factors applicable within a global context and included both subjective and objective components.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study

O’Sullivan

Burns

Leavey

et al. 2021

IJERPH

143

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The COVID-19 global pandemic and subsequent public health social measures have challenged our social and economic life, with increasing concerns around potentially rising levels of social isolation and loneliness. This paper is based on cross-sectional online survey data (available in 10 languages, from 2 June to 16 November 2020) with 20,398 respondents from 101 different countries. It aims to help increase our understanding of the global risk factors that are associated with social isolation and loneliness, irrespective of culture or country, to support evidence-based policy, services and public health interventions. We found the prevalence of severe loneliness was 21% during COVID-19 with 6% retrospectively reporting severe loneliness prior to the pandemic. A fifth were defined as isolated based on their usual connections, with 13% reporting a substantial increase in isolation during COVID-19. Personal finances and mental health were overarching and consistently cross-cutting predictors of loneliness and social isolation, both before and during the pandemic. With the likelihood of future waves of COVID-19 and related restrictions, it must be a public health priority to address the root causes of loneliness and social isolation and, in particular, address the needs of specific groups such as carers or those living alone.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study

O’Sullivan

Burns

Leavey

et al. 2021

IJERPH

143

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Many external and internal factors may affect social health, of which mainly sociodemographic factors have been studied in relation to the pandemic so far (Taylor et al, 2021;Teater et al, 2021). In recent years, research has increasingly focused on the neurobiology of social functioning (Duzel et al, 2019;Spreng et al, 2020;van der Velpen et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of social health trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic in older adults: the Rotterdam Study

Velpen

Melis

Hussainali

et al. 2022

Int. Psychogeriatr.

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Objectives: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and accompanying lockdown restrictions impacted social life significantly. We studied associations of sociodemographic factors, mental and social health markers, and brain structure with social health trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Prospective longitudinal population-based cohort study. Setting: Community-dwelling inhabitants of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Participants: Repeated questionnaires including questions on social health were sent to Rotterdam Study participants from April 2020 onwards. Social health data at study baseline were available for 5017 participants (mean age: 68.7 ± 11.3; 56.9% women). Measurements: Determinants were assessed in routine Rotterdam Study follow-up (1990–2020), including global brain volumes in a subset of participants (N = 1720). We applied linear mixed models and generalized estimating equations to quantify associations between determinants and trajectories of loneliness, perceived social isolation and social connectedness over three time points from April 22nd to July 31st 2020. Results: Loneliness prevalence was 27.9% in April 2020 versus 12.6% prepandemic. Social isolation (baseline mean 4.7 ± 2.4) and loneliness scores (baseline mean 4.9 ± 1.5) decreased over time, whereas social connectedness trajectories remained stable. Depressive symptoms, female sex, prepandemic loneliness, living alone, and not owning a pet were independently associated with lower social connectedness and higher social isolation and loneliness at COVID-19 baseline, but recovery of social health was similar for all determinants. Larger intracranial volume was associated with higher social connectedness. Conclusions: Despite baseline differences for specific determinants, older adults showed similar recovery of loneliness and social isolation alongside stable social connectedness over time during the pandemic. Social health is multidimensional, especially during a global health crisis.

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“…The characteristics of our participants represent optimal aging: no chronic diseases, a high socioeconomic level, low depressive symptomatology, low perceived stress, children they see frequently, and high satisfaction with social relationships. These circumstances could be acting as a buffer against stressors ( Hawkley et al, 2008 ) such as loneliness and its endocrine effects, or they could even keep feelings of loneliness from appearing ( Teater et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loneliness and Health Indicators in Middle-Aged and Older Females and Males

Crespo-Sanmiguel

Zapater-Fajarí

Garrido-Chaves

et al. 2022

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Loneliness is a complex and uncomfortable feeling that results from the perception of a lack of desired personal and social ties. Loneliness is accentuated with aging. It has been related to a wide range of objective and subjective health indicators and is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality. One of the proposed underlying mechanisms through which loneliness affects health is the dysregulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. However, the relationship between loneliness and cortisol, the main product of the HPA axis, is unclear and requires more research. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to investigate the relationships between loneliness, subjective health, and cortisol indexes, taking the sex into account, and investigate whether the HPA axis mediates the relationship between loneliness and subjective health. For this purpose, 79 participants (between 55 and 75 years old) completed several scales on loneliness, depression, perceived stress, psychological and physical health, and social relationships. Various salivary cortisol measurements were obtained on two consecutive days. The initial results showed that loneliness was related to psychological and physical health in the mixed-sex sample. However, when covariates were introduced, loneliness was only associated with psychological health in males. In addition, the cortisol indexes employed were not related to loneliness and did not mediate the relationship between loneliness and subjective health. Hence, we did not find a relevant role of the HPA axis in the association between loneliness and subjective health. More severe perceptions of loneliness would probably be necessary to detect this role. Overall, these results also show that the expected negative outcomes of loneliness associated with aging can be countered by an active life that can compensate for the natural losses experienced with age or at least delay these negative outcomes. Finally, some sex differences were found, in line with other studies, which warrants further examination of social variables and dimensions related to gender in future research.

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Risk and Protective Factors of Loneliness among Older Adults: The Significance of Social Isolation and Quality and Type of Contact

Cited by 28 publications

References 41 publications

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study

Determinants of social health trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic in older adults: the Rotterdam Study

Loneliness and Health Indicators in Middle-Aged and Older Females and Males

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