Loneliness linked to serious health problems and death among elderly

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/uoc--llt061812.php

Public release date: 18-Jun-2012
Contact: Leland Kim
University of California - San Francisco
Loneliness linked to serious health problems and death among elderly
UCSF researchers find social factors play major role in older adults' health

Loneliness – the unpleasant feeling of emptiness or desolation – can creep in and cause suffering to people at any age. But it can be especially debilitating to older adults and may predict serious health problems and even death, according to a new study by UCSF researchers.

The team analyzed data in the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative study by the National Institute on Aging conducted on 1,604 older adults between 2002 and 2008. The research, published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine, focused specifically on the question of loneliness and its impact.

"In our typical medical model, we don't think of subjective feelings as affecting health," said first author Carla Perissinotto, MD, MHS, assistant professor in the UCSF Division of Geriatrics. "It's intriguing to find that loneliness is independently associated with an increased rate of death and functional decline."

Lonely Without Being Alone

One of the more surprising findings of the team's analysis is that loneliness does not necessarily correlate with living alone. The study found 43 percent of surveyed older adults felt lonely, yet only 18 percent lived alone.

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I hardly ever feel "lonely", but if I spend too much time alone, I get depleted of energy. Some of my friends have noticed the same things in themselves.