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Association Between Types of Loneliness and Risks of Functional Disability in Older Men and Women: A Prospective Analysis.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Qi, X; Belsky, DW; Yang, YC; Wu, B
Published in: The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
August 2023

To examine the association between types of loneliness (transient, incident, and chronic) and the risk of functional disability.Data were from the Health and Retirement Study 2006/2008-2016/2018. A total of 7,148 adults aged ≥50 was included. Functional status was measured by activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Loneliness was assessed using the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. We defined loneliness as no/transient/incident/chronic loneliness based on the pattern and duration of loneliness across 2006/2008 and 2010/2012. We applied multivariate Cox proportional hazard models with the new-onset ADL/IADL disability as outcome.Overall, 69.3% respondents showed no loneliness; while 10.3%, 8.9%, and 11.5% showed transient, incident, and chronic loneliness, respectively. A total of 1,298 (18.16%) and 1,260 (17.63%) functionally normal respondents developed ADL and IADL disability during 36,294 person-years of follow-up, respectively. After adjusting for socio-demographic, behavioral, and health factors, chronic loneliness was associated with higher risks of ADL (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.16-1.63, p <0.001, χ2 = 3.60, degree of freedom [df] = 1) and IADL disability (HR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.09-1.44, p = 0.002, χ2 = 3.17, df = 1) compared to no loneliness. By contrast, no significant associations between transient loneliness and ADL (HR = 1.17, 95% CI = 0.88-1.57, p = 0.273, χ2 = 1.10, df = 1) or IADL disability (HR = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.97-1.39, p = 0.112, χ2 = 1.59, df = 1) were found. Chronic loneliness was not associated with the risk of IADL disability in men (HR = 1.13, 95% CI = 0.91-1.40, p = 0.263, χ2 = 1.12, df = 1).Chronic loneliness, rather than transient loneliness, is an independent risk factor for functional disability in middle-aged and older adults, especially for women.

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Published In

The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

DOI

EISSN

1545-7214

ISSN

1064-7481

Publication Date

August 2023

Volume

31

Issue

8

Start / End Page

621 / 632

Related Subject Headings

  • Risk Factors
  • Retirement
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Geriatrics
  • Female
  • Disabled Persons
  • Disability Evaluation
  • Aged
 

Citation

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Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Qi, X., Belsky, D. W., Yang, Y. C., & Wu, B. (2023). Association Between Types of Loneliness and Risks of Functional Disability in Older Men and Women: A Prospective Analysis. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry : Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 31(8), 621–632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2023.02.046
Qi, Xiang, Daniel W. Belsky, Yang Claire Yang, and Bei Wu. “Association Between Types of Loneliness and Risks of Functional Disability in Older Men and Women: A Prospective Analysis.The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry : Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry 31, no. 8 (August 2023): 621–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2023.02.046.
Qi X, Belsky DW, Yang YC, Wu B. Association Between Types of Loneliness and Risks of Functional Disability in Older Men and Women: A Prospective Analysis. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2023 Aug;31(8):621–32.
Qi, Xiang, et al. “Association Between Types of Loneliness and Risks of Functional Disability in Older Men and Women: A Prospective Analysis.The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry : Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, vol. 31, no. 8, Aug. 2023, pp. 621–32. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2023.02.046.
Qi X, Belsky DW, Yang YC, Wu B. Association Between Types of Loneliness and Risks of Functional Disability in Older Men and Women: A Prospective Analysis. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2023 Aug;31(8):621–632.
Journal cover image

Published In

The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

DOI

EISSN

1545-7214

ISSN

1064-7481

Publication Date

August 2023

Volume

31

Issue

8

Start / End Page

621 / 632

Related Subject Headings

  • Risk Factors
  • Retirement
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Geriatrics
  • Female
  • Disabled Persons
  • Disability Evaluation
  • Aged