Loneliness in the Elderly: Association with Health Variables, Pain, and Cognitive Performance. A Population-based Study

Abstract

Loneliness is a phenomenon that is becoming a matter of increasing concern in developed countries. This concern increases interest in its study, especially in large cities with high population density, where more and more resources are being allocated to specific plans to mitigate its effects. Loneliness affects individuals at any age and has particular connotations among older people. The issue of loneliness currently concerns professionals in various fields (health, sociology, etc.) and even political authorities because of the effects of loneliness on individual and social health, on the population's well-being and its relation with social support networks, but it was already a concern in the middle of the last century (Sheldon, 1948). The concept of loneliness is a multidimensional psychological construct that has conventionally been considered as an unpleasant experience caused by the contrast between expectations and a person's real social relationships (De Jong Gierveld, 1987). We start from an unpleasant feeling that is a source of stress, clearly differentiating loneliness from living alone and regardless of whether it may have a positive added value as a component of active aging (Rodríguez-Rodríguez Clínica y Salud (2021) xx(x) xx-xx

Frailty as a Predictor of Adverse Outcomes among Spanish Community-Dwelling Older Adults

“…On the other hand, psychological frailty explained the difficulty in taking medications both at baseline and follow-up, as well as loneliness (cross-sectional) and falls (longitudinal). These results can be supported by the evidence from other authors stating that poorer self-reported mental health can be associated with lower levels of medication adherence because of the decline at the cognitive level [51], more feelings of loneliness as a consequence of symptoms of depression, such as anhedonia, decreased vitality or low self-esteem [52] or a higher risk of falls that can be related to recurrent changes in cognition, behavior and mental state [53]. Moreover, our results showed that social frailty was associated with loneliness, falls, fear of falling and difficulty in taking medications in cross-sectional analyses, but for none of the adverse outcomes longitudinally.…”