Abstract
Objective
Social isolation is a global health issue that affects older adults throughout their
lives. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with social isolation in
older adults.
Design
Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Setting and Participants
Adults aged 60 years and older.
Methods
We searched for observational studies without language restrictions in 11 databases
from inception to August 2022. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI were calculated using
the R software (version 4.2.1). The modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate
the risk of bias.
Results
Eighteen factors were grouped into 5 themes. The following 13 factors were statistically
significant: (1) demographics theme: aged 80 years and older (OR: 2.41; 95% CI: 1.20–4.85),
less than or equal to a high school degree (OR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.44–1.97), smoking
(OR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.18–1.73), and male (OR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.01–1.89); (2) environment
theme: low social support (OR: 7.77; 95% CI: 3.45–17.50) and no homeownership (OR:
1.38; 95% CI: 1.25–1.51); (3) role theme: no social participation (OR: 3.18; 95% CI:
1.30–7.80) and no spouse (OR: 2.61; 95% CI: 1.37–4.99); (4) physical health: hearing
loss (OR: 2.78; 95% CI: 1.54–5.01), activities of daily living impairment (OR: 2.38;
95% CI: 1.57–3.61), and poor health status (OR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.32–1.74); and (5)
mental health: cognitive decline (OR: 1.85; 95% CI: 1.40–2.45) and depression (OR:
1.72; 95% CI: 1.21–2.44).
Conclusions and Implications
Social isolation in older adults is associated with various factors. Hence, focused
intervention should be adopted for older adults. In addition, further longitudinal
studies are required to confirm a direct link between multiple factors and social
isolation.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 19, 2022
Accepted:
November 9,
2022
Received in revised form:
November 5,
2022
Received:
September 7,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (grant number 2018YFC2002400); and Sichuan Key Research Base of Philosophy and Social Sciences-Sichuan Mental Health Education Research Center Project (grant number XLJKJY202124B).
This study was prospectively registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42022345529.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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