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. 2019 Oct;31(10):1447-1462.
doi: 10.1017/S1041610218002120.

High prevalence and adverse health effects of loneliness in community-dwelling adults across the lifespan: role of wisdom as a protective factor

Ellen E Lee  1   2   3 , Colin Depp  1   2   3   4 , Barton W Palmer  1   2   4 , Danielle Glorioso  2   3 , Rebecca Daly  2   3 , Jinyuan Liu  2   5 , Xin M Tu  1   2   5 , Ho-Cheol Kim  3   6 , Peri Tarr  7 , Yasunori Yamada  8 , Dilip V Jeste  1   2   3   9
Affiliations

High prevalence and adverse health effects of loneliness in community-dwelling adults across the lifespan: role of wisdom as a protective factor

Ellen E Lee et al. Int Psychogeriatr. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: This study of loneliness across adult lifespan examined its associations with sociodemographics, mental health (positive and negative psychological states and traits), subjective cognitive complaints, and physical functioning.

Design: Analysis of cross-sectional data.

Participants: 340 community-dwelling adults in San Diego, California, mean age 62 (SD = 18) years, range 27-101 years, who participated in three community-based studies.

Measurements: Loneliness measures included UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 (UCLA-3), 4-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Social Isolation Scale, and a single-item measure from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) scale. Other measures included the San Diego Wisdom Scale (SD-WISE) and Medical Outcomes Survey- Short form 36.

Results: Seventy-six percent of subjects had moderate-high levels of loneliness on UCLA-3, using standardized cut-points. Loneliness was correlated with worse mental health and inversely with positive psychological states/traits. Even moderate severity of loneliness was associated with worse mental and physical functioning. Loneliness severity and age had a complex relationship, with increased loneliness in the late-20s, mid-50s, and late-80s. There were no sex differences in loneliness prevalence, severity, and age relationships. The best-fit multiple regression model accounted for 45% of the variance in UCLA-3 scores, and three factors emerged with small-medium effect sizes: wisdom, living alone and mental well-being.

Conclusions: The alarmingly high prevalence of loneliness and its association with worse health-related measures underscore major challenges for society. The non-linear age-loneliness severity relationship deserves further study. The strong negative association of wisdom with loneliness highlights the potentially critical role of wisdom as a target for psychosocial/behavioral interventions to reduce loneliness. Building a wiser society may help us develop a more connected, less lonely, and happier society.

Keywords: aging; anxiety; depression; gender differences; resilience.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest declaration:

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:. Relationship between Loneliness severity and Age(N=340)
Blue dotted line: LOESS curve fit, Red solid line: Linear spline model using age 53 year knot/break point UCLA-3 = UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3); measure of loneliness (Russell 1996) The linear spline model significantly differs from linear age effect (Wald statistic = 7.93, p = 0.019)
Figure 2:
Figure 2:. Wisdom and Loneliness
SD-WISE = San Diego Wisdom Scale; measure of wisdom (Thomas 2017) UCLA-3 = UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3); measure of loneliness (Russell 1996)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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