Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors.

Background: Literature often focuses on loneliness as a risk factor for dementia. However, loneliness among those living with dementia (PLWD) is yet to be further explored.

Method: Secondary analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Across ELSA waves 1 to 9, we identified 181 participants who reported being diagnosed with dementia and randomly selected 775 (10%) non-dementia participants (NDP) from wave 2 (2004-2005). For PLWD, the baseline was the year they reported the diagnosis. For NDP, the baseline was information from waves 1 and 2. We obtained a two-year lagged loneliness for a subsample (n = 70 PLWD and n = 569 NDP). We computed multiple linear regression models using bootstrap errors with 1000 iterations to describe the average levels of loneliness among people living with dementia in England.

Result: Both groups did not differ in their socioeconomic characteristics except for age. PLWD were, on average, 76 years old (Sd = 9.74), and NDP was 66 years old (sd = 9.53). The average level of loneliness was 4.71 (sd = 1.74) for PLWD and 4.07 (sd = 1.47) for NDP. At baseline, the loneliness prevalence was 15.76% among PLWD and 7.55% for NDP. Among PLWD, the average 2-year lagged loneliness was 4.72 (sd = 1.79), and 21% reported problematic loneliness, and among NDP, it was 4.18 (sd = 1.52) and 10%, respectively. Adjusted baseline levels of loneliness were statistically significantly higher among PLWD (Coef. = 0.694; 95% CI: 0.393-0.994). For the 2-year lagged loneliness, dementia and non-dementia participants did not significantly differ in their levels of loneliness.

Conclusion: Public policies should consider tackling loneliness among people living with dementia.