Objective: The objective of this is to examine whether pain is associated with the onset of loneliness in a sample of community-dwelling older adults.
Methods: We used data from the 2008 and 2012 Health and Retirement Study. We limited the sample to community-dwelling persons aged 60 years and over who were not lonely in 2008 in order to predict the risk of onset of loneliness (incidence) in 2012. Our analytic sample included 1,563 observations.
Results: Approximately 31.7% of participants reported loneliness at follow-up (2012). Logistic regression models showed that the odds of loneliness onset was 1.58 higher for those with pain at both time points, compared with those who had pain at neither time point, even after controlling for other covariates.
Discussion: The results indicate that pain may increase the risk of loneliness in older adults. This suggests that appropriate pain interventions could prevent future loneliness, which in turn could prevent functional decline, disability, and premature mortality.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0898264317721348 | DOI Listing |
Aging Ment Health
January 2025
Integrative Health Service, San Francisco VA Health Care System, San Francisco, California, USA.
Objectives: Loneliness and social isolation are associated with a range of deleterious health outcomes. Yoga is a mind-body physical activity that is used in health care settings and increasingly in a telehealth group format. This trial aimed to determine the effect of a brief course of telehealth yoga on loneliness among rural older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInnov Aging
September 2024
Department of Clinical Sciences, Center for Animals and Public Policy, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA.
Background And Objectives: Loneliness is linked to significant health threats and is potentially more dangerous than obesity; it affects as many as 29% of noninstitutionalized older adults. Loneliness is exacerbated for those who require inpatient rehabilitation, are displaced from their social networks, spend little time receiving therapy, and are physically inactive and socially isolated. Emerging evidence suggests that companion animals provide a number of health and well-being benefits and that interacting with a trained therapy dog may reduce loneliness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain Behav
January 2025
Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, Hamburg, Germany.
Background: Existing literature explores the relationship between voluntary work, loneliness, and social isolation, but there is a lack of research on how the onset and cessation of voluntary work relate to loneliness and social isolation among older adults. Many in this population may discontinue volunteering due to various life circumstances, making it important to investigate the longitudinal significance of these transitions. This study aims to assess whether engaging in volunteer work during retirement age is associated with changes in loneliness and social isolation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Geriatr
January 2025
Department of Emergency Medical Service, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, 51-618, Poland.
Background: Hypertension is a common condition among the elderly and is frequently accompanied by frailty syndrome (FS). The coexistence of hypertension and FS poses significant challenges in patient management and negatively impacts the quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to analyze the relationship between FS and QoL in elderly patients with suspected hypertension.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Department of Human Sciences, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.
This study focuses on the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020 in the United States to assess how liquidity constraints were related to loneliness among older adults. Data are from the COVID Impact Survey, which was used to collect data in April, May and June 2020 across the U.S.
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