Isolation and Loneliness Linked to Increased Death Risk in Old People

Both social isolation and loneliness are killers, as they can not only affect one's quality of life but also affect the person's life span. More than a third of older adults in the U.K. are plagued by loneliness.  

The latest findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show a disturbing correlation between social isolation and higher risk of death in older people. But what remains unknown is whether isolation, which leads to loneliness, damages health; or whether they both act in different ways harming the person's well-being.

Researchers came to this conclusion after evaluation of data from 6,500 people belonging to the age group 52 and older. Participants were part of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2004-2005) that monitored the health, social well-being and longevity of people residing in England. They were administered the standard questionnaire measure of loneliness. The researchers evaluated the social isolation based on the contact each participant maintained with their family, friends and other civic organizations. With the help of the Cox proportional hazards, they monitored and analyzed the cause of mortality till March 2012.

The researchers noticed a strong association between social isolation and increased mortality rate.

"When we think about loneliness and social isolation, we often think of them as two faces of the same coin. When you're socially isolated, you not only lack companionship in many cases, but you may also lack advice and support from people," study lead prof Andrew Steptoe, director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care at University College London, was quoted as saying in Nature.

He continues to state that the number of people who are alone has increased. The number of people living alone in the U.K. aged 55-64 years has increased to 50 percent in the last 15 years, reports BBC.

"We should make every effort to try to alleviate the loneliness of older people. But at the same time, we need to attend just to the sheer amount of social contact that people have and make sure that people do maintain their social contacts. That might be just as important," he concludes.