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Cited by 83Health disparities and outcomesAging, Health, and DisabilityAging and Gerontology Research

Loneliness, Health, and Longevity

Stessman, J., Rottenberg, Y., Shimshilashvili, I., Ein-Mor, E., Jacobs, J. M.·2014·The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
DOI 10.1093/gerona/glt147
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Objective measures of loneliness and poor social contacts are associated with negative health outcomes. However, the influence of subjective loneliness among elderly persons is poorly documented. We hypothesized that loneliness among persons aged 70-90 years is associated with subsequent decline in health, function, and longevity. METHODS: Mortality data for subjects aged 70-90 years were obtained; subjective loneliness, health, comorbidity, depression, and functional status were assessed through the Jerusalem Longitudinal Cohort Study (1990-2010), a prospective longitudinal study. A representative sample of 407, 661, and 1,113 participants born 1920-1921 were assessed at home at ages 70, 78, and 85, respectively. Participants were asked how often they felt lonely, with answers dichotomized to never versus rarely/often/very often. In the age group of 70, 78, and 85, we excluded 67, 141, and 408 depressed participants from the study sample, which, thus, comprised 340, 520, and 705 participants, respectively. RESULTS: At age 70, 78, and 85, prevalence of loneliness was 27.9% (n = 95), 23.8% (n = 124), and 24% (n = 169), respectively. The only factor consistently associated at all ages with increased likelihood of loneliness was not being married. After adjusting for baseline variables, we found no association between loneliness and subsequent deterioration 7 years later in functional status, mood, cognition, chronic pain, or rising comorbidity between ages 70 and 78 or 78 and 85. Loneliness was not associated with mortality among the participants aged 70-78, 78-85, and 85-90. We repeated all data analysis, without excluding depressed participants, without any change in overall findings. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not support the hypothesis that subjective loneliness is associated with increased morbidity or mortality from age 70 to 90.

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  • More recent large-scale population-based studies of older adults have reported broadly similar findings on risk factors for loneliness.

    “More recent large-scale, population-based studies of older adults have reported broadly similar findings [15, 18].”

    From Loneliness and health in older adults: a mini-review and synthesis (2016) · cites this paper as [18]

  • Nicolaisen and Thorsen estimated that 30.2% of Norwegian adults over age 65 reported being lonely, as measured by a score of 2 or more on the 6-item dJG Loneliness Scale.

    “using data from a large Norwegian sample (n = 14,743), Nicolaisen and Thorsen [18] estimated that 30.2% of Norwegian adults over the age of 65 years reported being lonely, as measured by a score of 2 or more (answer categories range from 1 = not lonely to 6 = intensely lonely) on the 6-item dJG Loneliness Scale.”

    From Loneliness and health in older adults: a mini-review and synthesis (2016) · cites this paper as [18]

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Authors
Stessman, J., Rottenberg, Y., Shimshilashvili, I., Ein-Mor, E., & Jacobs, J. M.
Affiliations
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
ORCID
Venue
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2013-09-28
Volume
69
Issue
6
Pages
744-750
ISSN
  • 1079-5006 (ISSN-L)
  • 1758-535X
DOI
10.1093/gerona/glt147
OpenAlex
W2144827893
Cited by
83
References
35
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 2
FWCI
4.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Journals of Gerontology Series A (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
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
subjective loneliness, older adults, mortality, functional status, comorbidities, depression, marital status, cognitive decline, chronic pain
MeSH terms
Activities of Daily Living, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cognition, Depression, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Health Status, Humans, Israel, Loneliness, Longevity, Male, Prospective Studies, Prevalence, Survival Rate

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