Abstract
Objectives
Loneliness and social isolation are important factors for morbidity and mortality.
However, little is known about whether increases in loneliness and perceived social
isolation contribute to decreased expectations of longevity and an increased frequency
of dealing with death and dying. Consequently, our aim was to clarify these relationships.
Design
Longitudinal data were derived from a nationally representative sample of individuals
≥40 years (analytical sample, n=7952 observations).
Setting and Participants
Community-dwelling individuals aged ≥40 years.
Methods
Loneliness and perceived social isolation were both measured using well-established
tools. In accordance with other large cohort studies, the expectations of longevity
were assessed using the question “What age do you think you will live to?” Moreover,
the frequency of dealing with death and dying (from 1 = never to 5 = very often) served
as outcome measure. In regression analysis, it was adjusted for several sociodemographic
and health-related factors.
Results
Fixed effects regressions showed that both increases in loneliness (β = –0.99, P < .001) and in perceived social isolation (β = –0.59, P < .05) were associated with decreases in expectations of longevity. Furthermore,
both loneliness [incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.02, P < .05] and perceived social isolation (IRR = 1.02, P < .05) were associated with increases in the frequency of dealing with death and
dying.
Conclusions and Implications
Beyond the impact of various covariates, findings still point to a longitudinal association
between both perceived social isolation and loneliness and lower expectations of longevity
as well as an increased frequency of dealing with death and dying. Efforts in reducing
loneliness and perceived social isolation can contribute to increased expected longevity
and a decreased frequency of dealing with death and dying which ultimately can contribute
to longevity in older age.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 07, 2021
Footnotes
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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© 2021 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
