An investigation into the patterns of loneliness and loss in the oldest old – Newcastle 85+ Study
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ABSTRACT Old age is often characterised as being associated with neglect, isolation and loneliness, not least since established risks factors for loneliness include widowhood, living alone, depression and being female. Cross-sectional data have challenged the notion that loneliness is especially an old-age phenomenon but longitudinal data on loneliness is scarce. Moreover, an under-represented group in prior studies are the oldest old, those aged 85 years and more. This paper addresses these knowledge gaps using data from the Newcastle 85+ Study, a large population-based cohort aged 85 years at first interview with follow-up interviews at 18 months and three years. At baseline over half (55%) reported being always or often alone, and 41 per cent reported feeling more lonely than ten years previously, although only 2 per cent reported always feeling lonely. Women spent more time alone than men and reported more loneliness both currently and compared to the past. Length of widowhood was a key factor, with those recently widowed having twice the risk of feeling lonely and those widowed for five or more years having a lower risk of reporting increased loneliness. Overall, the findings show that loneliness is a minority experience in the oldest old but is strongly driven by length of widowhood, challenging the notion that loneliness in later life is a static experience.
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Correlates of loneliness in the oldest-old have not been extensively studied.
“Nevertheless, the correlations of loneliness in the oldest-old have not been extensively studied, and all of these studies were conducted in high-income countries (Germany: [10,11]; Australia: [4]; Sweden/ Finland: [18,27]) or high-income context, Shanghai, China [36]”
From Factors associated with loneliness in a national study among persons 80 years and older in India in 2017-2018 (2025) · cites this paper as [4]
This study did not find a significant association between living alone and loneliness.
“this study did not find a significant association.”
From Factors associated with loneliness in a national study among persons 80 years and older in India in 2017-2018 (2025) · cites this paper as [4]
Among four health-related factors (chronic conditions, functional disability, depression, and self-rated physical health), only functional disability was associated with higher loneliness in this study.
“While some previous studies [4,10,11,18,36] found that four healthrelated factors (chronic conditions, functional disability, depression, and self-rated physical health) were associated with higher loneliness, this study only found an association with functional disability.”
From Factors associated with loneliness in a national study among persons 80 years and older in India in 2017-2018 (2025) · cites this paper as [4]
Among the oldest-old, sociodemographic factors associated with loneliness include not being married and lower education.
“Among the oldest-old sociodemographic factors associated with loneliness included not being married [4,11] and lower education [11].”
From Factors associated with loneliness in a national study among persons 80 years and older in India in 2017-2018 (2025) · cites this paper as [4]
Studies of loneliness in the oldest-old have been conducted in high-income countries or high-income contexts.
“all of these studies were conducted in high-income countries (Germany: [10,11]; Australia: [4]; Sweden/ Finland: [18,27]) or high-income context, Shanghai, China [36]”
From Factors associated with loneliness in a national study among persons 80 years and older in India in 2017-2018 (2025) · cites this paper as [4]
Among the oldest-old, health-related factors associated with loneliness include functional disability, multimorbidity, poor self-rated health, and depressive symptoms.
“Health-related factors associated with loneliness among the oldest-old included functional disability [4,11], multimorbidity [11], poor self-rated health [10,11,36], and depressive symptoms [10,18].”
From Factors associated with loneliness in a national study among persons 80 years and older in India in 2017-2018 (2025) · cites this paper as [4]
Among the oldest-old, social factors associated with loneliness include living alone, being institutionalised, having a small social network size, lower family functioning, reduced chatting with neighbours, and not using social media on the internet.
“Social factors associated with loneliness among the oldest old included living alone [4,18,27,36], institutionalised [11,27], having a small social network size [10], lower family functioning [36], reduced chatting with neighbours [36], and not using social media on the internet [30].”
From Factors associated with loneliness in a national study among persons 80 years and older in India in 2017-2018 (2025) · cites this paper as [4]
In a longitudinal analysis, there were no significant gender differences in the prevalence of loneliness.
“However, in a longitudinal analysis, there were no significant gender differences in the prevalence of loneliness [4].”
From Factors associated with loneliness in a national study among persons 80 years and older in India in 2017-2018 (2025) · cites this paper as [4]
In a cross-sectional analysis among oldest-old in Australia, women had higher loneliness than men.
“and among oldest-old in Australia in cross-sectional anslysis in which women had higher loneliness than men.”
From Factors associated with loneliness in a national study among persons 80 years and older in India in 2017-2018 (2025) · cites this paper as [4]
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- Authors
- BRITTAIN, K., KINGSTON, A., DAVIES, K., COLLERTON, J., ROBINSON, L. A., KIRKWOOD, T. B. L., BOND, J., & JAGGER, C.
- Affiliations
- Newcastle University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- BRITTAIN, KATIE
- ORCID
- Venue
- Ageing and Society
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2015-10-30
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 39-62
- ISSN
- 0144-686X (ISSN-L)
- 1469-1779
- OpenAlex
- W2342116083
- Cited by
- 63
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 3.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- Ageing and Society (publishedVersion)
- Northumbria Research Link (Northumbria University) (submittedVersion)
- Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
- Funders
- Medical Research Council (MR/J50001X/1)
- 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, oldest old, widowhood, living alone, social isolation, loss, gender differences, Newcastle 85+ Study, older adults
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