Are Loneliness and Social Isolation Associated with Quality of Life in Older Adults? Insights from Northern and Southern Europe
Purpose: Loneliness and social isolation have detrimental effects on health in old age; however, the prospective associations with quality of life (QoL) remain unclear. Furthermore, despite the existence of a European north-south gradient in the distribution of loneliness and social isolation, littl...
Published in: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/225623 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228637 |
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ftcsic:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/225623 2023-05-15T17:40:19+02:00 Are Loneliness and Social Isolation Associated with Quality of Life in Older Adults? Insights from Northern and Southern Europe Beridze, Giorgi Ayala, Alba Ribeiro, Oscar Fernández-Mayoralas, Gloria Rodríguez-Blázquez, Carmen Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Vicente Rojo-Pérez, Fermina Forjaz, Maria João Calderón-Larrañaga, Amaia 2020-11-20 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/225623 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228637 unknown Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute doi:10.3390/ijerph17228637 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 (22): 8637 (2020) http://hdl.handle.net/10261/225623 artículo 2020 ftcsic https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228637 2020-12-30T00:29:56Z Purpose: Loneliness and social isolation have detrimental effects on health in old age; however, the prospective associations with quality of life (QoL) remain unclear. Furthermore, despite the existence of a European north-south gradient in the distribution of loneliness and social isolation, little is known whether the associations are context-specific. We investigated the relationships between loneliness, social isolation and QoL of older adults residing in the North (Sweden) and South (Spain) of Europe. Methods: Study sample consisted of 2995 Swedish and 4154 Spanish older adults who participated in waves six and seven of the Study on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Loneliness and social isolation were measured at the baseline, and QoL was measured at the baseline and follow-up using CASP-12. Prospective associations were assessed via multivariate linear regression. Results: In Sweden, subjects with higher vs. lower loneliness had 1.01 (95% CI: −1.55, −0.40) units lower QoL, while every standard deviation increase in social isolation was associated with a 0.27 (95% CI: −0.42, −0.09)-unit decrease in QoL. In Spain, every standard deviation increase in social isolation was associated with a 0.66 (95% CI: −1.11, −0.22)-unit decrease in QoL. The association was stronger in subjects aged ≤65 years old and those with no chronic diseases. The association with loneliness was not statistically significant in Spain. Conclusion: Loneliness and social isolation are prospectively associated with decreased QoL among older adults, yet the associations are contextually bound. Future interventions should target both exposures, among others, in order to increase QoL in this group. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Sweden Digital.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 22 8637 |
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Digital.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) |
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Purpose: Loneliness and social isolation have detrimental effects on health in old age; however, the prospective associations with quality of life (QoL) remain unclear. Furthermore, despite the existence of a European north-south gradient in the distribution of loneliness and social isolation, little is known whether the associations are context-specific. We investigated the relationships between loneliness, social isolation and QoL of older adults residing in the North (Sweden) and South (Spain) of Europe. Methods: Study sample consisted of 2995 Swedish and 4154 Spanish older adults who participated in waves six and seven of the Study on Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Loneliness and social isolation were measured at the baseline, and QoL was measured at the baseline and follow-up using CASP-12. Prospective associations were assessed via multivariate linear regression. Results: In Sweden, subjects with higher vs. lower loneliness had 1.01 (95% CI: −1.55, −0.40) units lower QoL, while every standard deviation increase in social isolation was associated with a 0.27 (95% CI: −0.42, −0.09)-unit decrease in QoL. In Spain, every standard deviation increase in social isolation was associated with a 0.66 (95% CI: −1.11, −0.22)-unit decrease in QoL. The association was stronger in subjects aged ≤65 years old and those with no chronic diseases. The association with loneliness was not statistically significant in Spain. Conclusion: Loneliness and social isolation are prospectively associated with decreased QoL among older adults, yet the associations are contextually bound. Future interventions should target both exposures, among others, in order to increase QoL in this group. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Beridze, Giorgi Ayala, Alba Ribeiro, Oscar Fernández-Mayoralas, Gloria Rodríguez-Blázquez, Carmen Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Vicente Rojo-Pérez, Fermina Forjaz, Maria João Calderón-Larrañaga, Amaia |
spellingShingle |
Beridze, Giorgi Ayala, Alba Ribeiro, Oscar Fernández-Mayoralas, Gloria Rodríguez-Blázquez, Carmen Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Vicente Rojo-Pérez, Fermina Forjaz, Maria João Calderón-Larrañaga, Amaia Are Loneliness and Social Isolation Associated with Quality of Life in Older Adults? Insights from Northern and Southern Europe |
author_facet |
Beridze, Giorgi Ayala, Alba Ribeiro, Oscar Fernández-Mayoralas, Gloria Rodríguez-Blázquez, Carmen Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Vicente Rojo-Pérez, Fermina Forjaz, Maria João Calderón-Larrañaga, Amaia |
author_sort |
Beridze, Giorgi |
title |
Are Loneliness and Social Isolation Associated with Quality of Life in Older Adults? Insights from Northern and Southern Europe |
title_short |
Are Loneliness and Social Isolation Associated with Quality of Life in Older Adults? Insights from Northern and Southern Europe |
title_full |
Are Loneliness and Social Isolation Associated with Quality of Life in Older Adults? Insights from Northern and Southern Europe |
title_fullStr |
Are Loneliness and Social Isolation Associated with Quality of Life in Older Adults? Insights from Northern and Southern Europe |
title_full_unstemmed |
Are Loneliness and Social Isolation Associated with Quality of Life in Older Adults? Insights from Northern and Southern Europe |
title_sort |
are loneliness and social isolation associated with quality of life in older adults? insights from northern and southern europe |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/225623 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228637 |
genre |
North Sweden |
genre_facet |
North Sweden |
op_relation |
doi:10.3390/ijerph17228637 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 (22): 8637 (2020) http://hdl.handle.net/10261/225623 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228637 |
container_title |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
22 |
container_start_page |
8637 |
_version_ |
1766141197398573056 |