Association of social isolation and loneliness with the risk of hypertension in middle aged and older adults: Findings from a national representative longitudinal survey

Social pain and physical pain: a cohort study to explore the association of social isolation and loneliness with chronic pain among older adults in China

“…Social connectivity is essential for human well-being [39]. In our study, 50.71% of the participants were identified as having a high level of social isolation and 22.93% and cultural differences [16]. For example, some cultures emphasize close family ties while others are more individualistic [40,41].…”

“…or emails), and living in a rural area [29,31]. We used the median of the total social isolation score to categorize participants into a low (<3 points) and a high (≥ 3 points) social isolation group [16,32]. From the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD) in CHARLS, loneliness was assessed by asking the question "How frequently did you experience feelings of loneliness within the past week?".…”

“…Coupled with declining fertility, breakdown in the extended Chinese family and rural-to-urban migration leaving older. parents in the countryside, the high-risk older population face social disengagement, loneliness, and separation from their children [15,16]. Loneliness and social isolation, as forms of social pain, are concepts related to social connections, but with distinct definitions.…”

“…Loneliness and social isolation, as forms of social pain, are concepts related to social connections, but with distinct definitions. Loneliness is a self-perceived or subjective feeling of being disconnected from social relationships [17] while social isolation is an objective condition, measured by the number of relationships, participation in social activities, and frequency of social engagements [16,18]. Biopsychosocial modeling has identified loneliness and social isolation, as well as depression, anxiety, and education [19][20][21] , as factors impacting a range of chronic diseases, such as hypertension [16], cardiovascular diseases [18,22], digestive disease [23], and diabetes [18].…”