Loneliness, Social Isolation, and All-Cause Mortality in a Large Sample of Older Adults

Barnes, Timothy L.; Ahuja, Manik; MacLeod, Stephanie; Tkatch, Rifky; Albright, Laurie; Schaeffer, J.; Yeh, Charlotte S.

doi:10.1177/08982643221074857

Cited by 23 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Thus, due to the restricted overall knowledge, our aim was to investigate the association between care degree (reflecting the need for long-term care) and loneliness as well as perceived social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since loneliness and perceived social isolation can, in turn, lead to premature death [ 8 ], knowledge about the association between care degree and these factors is of great importance. Our present study can also serve as a first base for future research in this area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term care need, loneliness, and perceived social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the German Ageing Survey

et al. 2023

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Background There is a complete lack of studies focusing on the association between care degree (reflecting the long-term care need) and loneliness or social isolation in Germany. Aims To investigate the association between care degree and loneliness as well as perceived social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We used data from the nationally representative German Ageing Survey, which covers community-dwelling middle-aged and older individuals aged 40 years or over. We used wave 8 of the German Ageing Survey (analytical sample: n = 4334 individuals, mean age was 68.9 years, SD: 10.2 years; range 46–100 years). To assess loneliness, the De Jong Gierveld instrument was used. To assess perceived social isolation, the Bude and Lantermann instrument was used. Moreover, the level of care was used as a key independent variable (absence of care degree (0); care degree 1–5). Results After adjusting for various covariates, regressions showed that there were no significant differences between individuals without a care degree and individuals with a care degree of 1 or 2 in terms of loneliness and perceived social isolation. In contrast, individuals with a care degree of 3 or 4 had higher loneliness (β = 0.23, p = 0.034) and higher perceived social isolation scores (β = 0.38, p < 0.01) compared to individuals without a care degree. Discussion/conclusions Care degrees of 3 or 4 are associated with higher levels of both loneliness and perceived social isolation. Longitudinal studies are required to confirm this association.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term care need, loneliness, and perceived social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the German Ageing Survey

et al. 2023

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“…During her conservative management, the patient required oxygen therapy and expressed excessive tiredness. A recent study by Barnes et al of nearly 8000 patients suggested social isolation and loneliness were associated with increased mortality in the elderly population [ 16 ]. After the patient’s VATS, she was removed from COVID-19 precautions and had improved functional breathing status; subsequently, she began to participate more in physical therapy and became more invested in her overall plan of care.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefits of Early Thoracic Surgery in the Elderly During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned From Performing a Video-Assisted Thoracotomy

Malkoc¹,

Phan²,

Nguyen³

et al. 2022

Cureus

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Elderly patients are often considered poor surgical candidates for intra-thoracic operations due to the number of comorbidities, increased risks associated with general anesthesia, decreased cardiopulmonary reserve, and overall increased frailty. In addition, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a critical psychosocial factor that, through secondary effects, can prevent patients from receiving optimal care. Patients are reduced to having limited contact with family, often a vital support system, which can contribute to feelings of hopelessness, loneliness, and depression. We report the case of a 95-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with increasing supplemental oxygen requirements two weeks after a ground-level fall. She was found to have multiple rib fractures and a left-sided hemothorax. Initial management included aggressive respiratory therapy, multiple pigtail chest tubes, and thrombolytics; however, these measures failed to drain the intrathoracic hematoma. Her care was complicated by the psychosocial and isolation factors of COVID-19 which led to the patient exhibiting symptoms of hopelessness, grief, lack of appetite, and loneliness. As conservative management did not improve her clinical care the patient required a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) to manage the retained hemothorax and facilitate re-expansion of her atelectatic lung. Once the patient was removed from COVID-19 precautions, she was taken to surgery and postoperatively the patient reported minimal pain, participated more in physical therapy, and increased her oral intake. In this unique case, a 95-year-old patient with a hemothorax that was successfully treated with a VATS had her clinical care complicated by the psychosocial implications of COVID-19.

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“…For example, the impacts of dementia diagnoses on caregivers are not routinely assessed, despite their profound impacts on those caregivers and their strong linkages with subsequent healthcare utilization, such as long‐term care placement. Importantly, these measures also do not capture the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness, whose importance is widely recognized in the context of the COVID‐19 pandemic and is strongly associated with health outcomes 42–44 …”

Section: Mentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Effective interventions exist that address these domains 45,46 . Loneliness and social isolation both have brief, well‐validated tools that are already incorporated into screening of large patient samples 42 …”

Section: Mentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

What matters when it comes to measuring Age‐Friendly Health System transformation

Burke

Ashcraft

Manges

et al. 2022

J American Geriatrics Society

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Thousands of health systems are now recognized as “Age‐Friendly Health Systems,” making this model one of the most widely disseminated – and most promising‐ models to redesign care delivery for older adults. Sustaining these gains will require demonstrating the impact on care delivery and outcomes of older adults. We propose a new measurement model to more tightly link Age‐Friendly Health System transformation to outcomes within each “M” (What Matters, Medications, Mobility, and Mentation). We evaluated measures based on the following characteristics: (1) conceptual responsiveness to changes brought about by practicing “4Ms” care; (2) degree to which they represent outcomes that matter to older adults; and (3) how they can be feasibly, reliably, and validly measured. We offer specific examples of how novel measures are currently being used where available. Finally, we present measures that could capture system‐level effects across “M”s. We tie these suggestions together into a conceptual measurement model for AFHS transformation, with the intent to spur discussion, debate, and iterative improvement in measures over time.

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Loneliness, Social Isolation, and All-Cause Mortality in a Large Sample of Older Adults

Cited by 23 publications

References 63 publications

Long-term care need, loneliness, and perceived social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the German Ageing Survey

Long-term care need, loneliness, and perceived social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the German Ageing Survey

Benefits of Early Thoracic Surgery in the Elderly During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned From Performing a Video-Assisted Thoracotomy

What matters when it comes to measuring Age‐Friendly Health System transformation

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