Loneliness, health, and mortality in old age: A national longitudinal study
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This study examined the relationship between loneliness, health, and mortality using a U.S. nationally representative sample of 2101 adults aged 50 years and over from the 2002 to 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. We estimated the effect of loneliness at one point on mortality over the subsequent six years, and investigated social relationships, health behaviors, and health outcomes as potential mechanisms through which loneliness affects mortality risk among older Americans. We operationalized health outcomes as depressive symptoms, self-rated health, and functional limitations, and we conceptualized the relationships between loneliness and each health outcome as reciprocal and dynamic. We found that feelings of loneliness were associated with increased mortality risk over a 6-year period, and that this effect was not explained by social relationships or health behaviors but was modestly explained by health outcomes. In cross-lagged panel models that tested the reciprocal prospective effects of loneliness and health, loneliness both affected and was affected by depressive symptoms and functional limitations over time, and had marginal effects on later self-rated health. These population-based data contribute to a growing literature indicating that loneliness is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality and point to potential mechanisms through which this process works.
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Loneliness is a major detrimental factor for older adults' wellbeing, linked to poor mental health, quality of life, cognitive decline, and increased mortality.
“Together with e.g. smoking and alcohol consumption, it has been shown to be a hugely detrimental factor, imposing threats leading to poor mental health, quality of life (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015), declining cognitive function (Zhong et al., 2017) and increased mortality (Luo et al., 2012).”
From Filial Piety, Generativity and Older Adults’ Wellbeing and Loneliness in Denmark and China (2022) · cites this paper as Luo et al., 2012
Luo et al. (2012) found that loneliness both affected and was affected by depression and functional limitations over time.
“Luo et al. (2012) found that loneliness both affected and was affected by depression and functional limitations over time.”
From Social isolation, loneliness and health in old age: a scoping review (2017) · cites this paper as Luo et al. 2012
In the Health and Retirement Study, loneliness predicted all-cause mortality over six years independently of demographic factors and health behaviors, but the association became nonsignificant after baseline health, functional limitations, and depressive symptoms were controlled.
“In the HRS, loneliness predicted all-cause mortality over a 6-y period independently of demographic factors and health behaviors, but associations no longer were significant after baseline health, functional limitations, and depressive symptoms were taken into account (26).”
From Social isolation, loneliness, and all-cause mortality in older men and women (2013) · cites this paper as [26]
A meta-analytic synthesis of 218 studies concluded that loneliness is associated with sociodemographic, psychosocial, and health-related risk factors including being female, widowed, divorced, never married; having little contact with significant friends or low-quality friendship ties; worsening physical health; and lacking socioeconomic resources.
“A meta-analytic synthesis of 218 studies by Pinquart and Sörensen [21] concluded that loneliness was associated with a constellation of sociodemographic, psychosocial, and health-related risk factors that include being female, widowed, divorced, never married; having little contact with significant friends or low-quality friendship ties; worsening physical health (e.g., increased chronic illness”
From Loneliness and health in older adults: a mini-review and synthesis (2016) · cites this paper as [21]
In non-pandemic contexts, geographical isolation, living alone, and lack of social engagement predict loneliness in adult and older adult populations.
“In non-pandemic contexts, geographical isolation, living alone, and lack of social engagement predicts loneliness in adult and older adult populations [5,13,15,20,29–31].”
From Loneliness in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study (2020) · cites this paper as [29]
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- Authors
- Luo, Y., Hawkley, L. C., Waite, L. J., & Cacioppo, J. T.
- Affiliations
- Clemson University (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Corresponding author
- Luo, Ye
- Venue
- Social Science & Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-03
- Volume
- 74
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 907-914
- ISSN
- 0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3303190
- OpenAlex
- W2048168755
- Cited by
- 1,232
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 38 · 2025: 76 · 2024: 90 · 2023: 107 · 2022: 130 · 2021: 144 · 2020: 178 · 2019: 97 · 2018: 88 · 2017: 67 · 2016: 67 · 2015: 75 · 2014: 45 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 54.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (Z99 RG999999, 5r01ag036433-02)
- National Institute on Aging (R01-AG036433E01, R37AG033590, R01-AG036433, R01AG034052, R37AG030481)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Aging, Health, and Disability
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- loneliness, mortality, older adults, depressive symptoms, self-rated health, functional limitations, interpersonal relationships, health behavior, reciprocal effects, health outcomes, aging
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Depression, Female, Health Status, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Loneliness, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Mortality, Social Support, Socioeconomic Factors, United States, Cohort Studies, Health Behavior
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