Cited by 192Health disparities and outcomesAging, Health, and DisabilityAging, Elder Care, and Social Issues

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Examining individual and geographic factors associated with social isolation and loneliness using Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) data

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Menec, Verena H., Newall, Nancy E., Mackenzie, Corey S., Shooshtari, Shahin, Nowicki, Scott·2019·PLOS ONE

DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0211143PMC PMC6358157

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: A large body of research shows that social isolation and loneliness have detrimental health consequences. Identifying individuals at risk of social isolation or loneliness is, therefore, important. The objective of this study was to examine personal (e.g., sex, income) and geographic (rural/urban and sociodemographic) factors and their association with social isolation and loneliness in a national sample of Canadians aged 45 to 85 years. METHODS: The study involved cross-sectional analyses of baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging that were linked to 2016 census data at the Forward Sortation Area (FSA) level. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between personal factors and geographic factors and social isolation and loneliness for the total sample, and women and men, respectively. RESULTS: The prevalence of social isolation and loneliness was 5.1% and 10.2%, respectively, but varied substantially across personal characteristics. Personal characteristics (age, sex, education, income, functional impairment, chronic diseases) were significantly related to both social isolation and loneliness, although some differences emerged in the direction of the relationships for the two measures. Associations also differed somewhat for women versus men. Associations between some geographic factors emerged for social isolation, but not loneliness. Living in an urban core was related to increased odds of social isolation, an effect that was no longer significant when FSA-level factors were controlled for. FSAs with a higher percentage of 65+ year old residents with low income were consistently associated with higher odds of social isolation. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that socially isolated individuals are, to some extent, clustered into areas with a high proportion of low-income older adults, suggesting that support and resources could be targeted at these areas. For loneliness, the focus may be less on where people live, but rather on personal characteristics that place individuals at risk.

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“…(21) Lubben Social Isolation Scale (Lubben, 2006) (22) Structural Social Isolation Scale (Berkman & Syme, 1979 (23) ; Steptoe et al., 2013 (24) ; Newall & Menec, 2019 (25) ) a Details regarding these tools can be found at:…”
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“Robusto 159 (35,7) 75 (37,0) 84 (34,7) 0,065 74 (41,6) 55 (33,5) 30 (29,1) 0,108 Prefrágil 178 (40,0) 89 (43,8) 89 (36,8) 69 (38,7) 69 (42,1) 40 (38,8) Frágil 108 (24,3) 39 (19,2) 69 (28,5) 35 (19,7) 40 (24,4) 33 (32,1)”
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“28,29 The scores ranged from zero to ﬁ ve, with higher scores indicating greater SI.”
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“Consistent with some prior research, our findings importantly demonstrate widowhood’s impact on loneliness diminishes with advancing age (Menec et al., 2019; F. Yang & Gu, 2021).”
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“′Social isolation index (SII) compares those who are socially isolated (coded as 1) to the reference not socially isolated (coded as 0).”
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“…days”, “3–4 days”, “5–7 days”), but in many prior studies using this item to measure loneliness scores are subsequently dichoto-mized with having felt lonely on 3 + days as the threshold for being coded as frequently lonely (e.g., Menec et al. 2019; Peltzer & Pengpid 2019; Salinas et al. 2022).”
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“In prior work, age, and educational level have been identified as confounders (Gyasi et al., 2022; Kubota et al., 2017; Menec et al., 2019; Yazdanyar & Newman, 2009).”
Can ‘What Is Known’ about Social Isolation and Loneliness Interventions Sufficiently Inform the Clinical Practice of Health Care and Social Service Professionals Who Work with Older Adults? Exploring Knowledge-to-Practice Gaps
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“In Canada, the prevalence of social isolation and loneliness (combined) among older adults is currently estimated as 5.1% and 10.2%, respectively [13].”
BackgroundInfluential

Authors: Menec, V. H., Newall, N. E., Mackenzie, C. S., Shooshtari, S., & Nowicki, S.
Affiliations: University of Manitoba (CA)
Brandon University (CA)
Corresponding author: Menec, Verena H.
ORCID: Menec, Verena H.
Newall, Nancy E.
Mackenzie, Corey S.
Shooshtari, Shahin
Venue: PLOS ONE
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published: 2019-02-01
Volume: 14
Issue: 2
Pages: e0211143
ISSN: 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211143
PMC: PMC6358157
OpenAlex: W2914353810
Cited by: 192
References: 74
Citations by year: 2026: 15 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 9
FWCI: 23.16
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: gold
doi.org
Licence: cc-by
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (vor)
Locations: PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (#373098)
Topics: Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Aging, Health, and Disability
Social Sciences › Life-span and Life-course Studies › Aging, Elder Care, and Social Issues
Keywords: social isolation, loneliness, older adults, urban-rural differences, geographical factors, sociodemographic factors, income, sex differences, functional disability, chronic disease, Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging
MeSH terms: Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Canada, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Geography, Humans, Loneliness, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Rural Population, Social Isolation, Socioeconomic Factors, Urban Population, Logistic Models

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Examining individual and geographic factors associated with social isolation and loneliness using Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) data

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