The DOI matches its Crossref record; 86 of the 86 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
High prevalence and adverse health effects of loneliness in community-dwelling adults across the lifespan: role of wisdom as a protective factor
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVES: This study of loneliness across adult lifespan examined its associations with sociodemographics, mental health (positive and negative psychological states and traits), subjective cognitive complaints, and physical functioning. DESIGN: Analysis of cross-sectional data. PARTICIPANTS: 340 community-dwelling adults in San Diego, California, mean age 62 (SD = 18) years, range 27-101 years, who participated in three community-based studies. MEASUREMENTS: Loneliness measures included UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 (UCLA-3), 4-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Social Isolation Scale, and a single-item measure from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) scale. Other measures included the San Diego Wisdom Scale (SD-WISE) and Medical Outcomes Survey- Short form 36. RESULTS: Seventy-six percent of subjects had moderate-high levels of loneliness on UCLA-3, using standardized cut-points. Loneliness was correlated with worse mental health and inversely with positive psychological states/traits. Even moderate severity of loneliness was associated with worse mental and physical functioning. Loneliness severity and age had a complex relationship, with increased loneliness in the late-20s, mid-50s, and late-80s. There were no sex differences in loneliness prevalence, severity, and age relationships. The best-fit multiple regression model accounted for 45% of the variance in UCLA-3 scores, and three factors emerged with small-medium effect sizes: wisdom, living alone and mental well-being. CONCLUSIONS: The alarmingly high prevalence of loneliness and its association with worse health-related measures underscore major challenges for society. The non-linear age-loneliness severity relationship deserves further study. The strong negative association of wisdom with loneliness highlights the potentially critical role of wisdom as a target for psychosocial/behavioral interventions to reduce loneliness. Building a wiser society may help us develop a more connected, less lonely, and happier society.
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“A number of recent clinical and biological studies have reported a strong inverse relationship between loneliness and wisdom, especially its compassion component38, 39, 40.”
From Mental health care for older adults: recent advances and new directions in clinical practice and research (2022) · cites this paper as [38]
In the citing paper
“in non-pandemic contexts, evidence suggests that the prevalence of loneliness ranges from 6–76%; with variations across demographic groups [5,13–17] and countries [18,19].”
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 [16]
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Research works printed but not linked: 2
- McGregor, 2017, This former surgeon general says there’s a ‘loneliness epidemic’ and work is partly to blame, Washington Post
- Samuelsson, 1998, Loneliness in relation to social, psychological and medical variables over a 13-year period: a study of the elderly in a Swedish rural district, Journal of Mental Health and Aging, 4, 361
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Loneliness and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic
Hwang, T.-J., Rabheru, K., Peisah, C., Reichman, W., & Ikeda, M. (2020) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610220000988 · Cited by 1,044
Artificial intelligence for mental health and mental illnesses: an overview
Graham, S., Depp, C., Lee, E. E., Nebeker, C., Tu, X., Kim, H.-C., & Jeste, D. V. (2019) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-019-1094-0 · Cited by 970
Self-citationGroarke, J. M., Berry, E., Graham-Wisener, L., McKenna-Plumley, P. E., McGlinchey, E., & Armour, C. (2020) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0239698 · Cited by 727
Older Adults and the Mental Health Effects of COVID-19
Vahia, I. V., Jeste, D. V., & Reynolds, C. F. (2020) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2020.21753 · Cited by 520
Self-citationBerg‐Weger, M., & Morley, J. E. (2020) · The journal of nutrition health & aging · doi:10.1007/s12603-020-1366-8 · Cited by 465
Metadata
- Authors
- Lee, E. E., Depp, C., Palmer, B. W., Glorioso, D., Daly, R., Liu, J., Tu, X. M., Kim, H.-C., Tarr, P., Yamada, Y., & Jeste, D. V.
- Affiliations
- IBM (United States) (US)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- IBM Research - Tokyo (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Jeste, Dilip V.
- ORCID
- Venue
- International Psychogeriatrics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-10
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1447-1462
- ISSN
- 1041-6102 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6581650
- OpenAlex
- W2905099661
- Cited by
- 286
- References
- 86
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 16
- FWCI
- 26.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Psychogeriatrics (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (UL1TR001442)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH094151, T32MH019934)
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Keywords
- loneliness, wisdom, lifespan, community-dwelling adults, mental health, physical function, social isolation, living alone, sociodemographic factors, subjective cognitive complaints, protective factors
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, California, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Loneliness, Longevity, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Surveys and Questionnaires, Regression Analysis, Risk Factors, Prevalence, Independent Living, Protective Factors
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