Consensus statement: loneliness in older adults, the 21st century social determinant of health?

Thomas Prohaska¹, Vanessa Burholt^{2

3}, Annette Burns^{4

5}, Jeannette Golden⁶, Louise Hawkley⁷, Brian Lawlor⁸, Gerard Leavey⁵, Jim Lubben^{9

10}, Roger O'Sullivan^{11

5}, Carla Perissinotto¹², Theo van Tilburg¹³, Mark Tully¹⁴, Christina Victor¹⁵, Linda Fried¹⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA.
² School of Nursing/School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
³ College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.
⁴ Institute of Public Health in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
⁵ Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Well Being, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK.
⁶ Mercer's Institute for Successful Ageing, Saint James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
⁷ Academic Research Centers, NORC at the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
⁸ Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
⁹ School of Social Work, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁰ Luskin School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
¹¹ Institute of Public Health in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland roger.osullivan@publichealth.ie.
¹² Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
¹³ Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
¹⁴ School of Health Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK.
¹⁵ College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University, London, UK.
¹⁶ Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.

PMID: 32788184
PMCID: PMC7422633
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034967

Consensus statement: loneliness in older adults, the 21st century social determinant of health?

Thomas Prohaska et al. BMJ Open. 2020.

. 2020 Aug 11;10(8):e034967.

doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034967.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA.
² School of Nursing/School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
³ College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.
⁴ Institute of Public Health in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
⁵ Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Well Being, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK.
⁶ Mercer's Institute for Successful Ageing, Saint James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
⁷ Academic Research Centers, NORC at the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
⁸ Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
⁹ School of Social Work, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁰ Luskin School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
¹¹ Institute of Public Health in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland roger.osullivan@publichealth.ie.
¹² Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
¹³ Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
¹⁴ School of Health Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK.
¹⁵ College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University, London, UK.
¹⁶ Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.

PMID: 32788184
PMCID: PMC7422633
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034967

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this consensus statement is to determine the state of the field of loneliness among older people, highlighting key issues for researchers, policymakers and those designing services and interventions.

Methods: In December 2018, an international meeting on loneliness was held in Belfast with leaders from across the USA and Europe. A summary of the conclusions reached at this event is presented following a consensus-building exercise conducted both during this event after each presentation as well as after the event through the drafting, reviewing and agreement of this statement by all authors for over 6 months.

Results: This meeting resulted in an agreement to produce a consensus statement on key issues including definitions of loneliness, measurement, antecedents, consequences and interventions.

Discussion: There has been an exponential growth in research on loneliness among older adults. However, differing measurements and definitions of loneliness mean the incidence and prevalence, associated risk factors and health consequences are often conflicting or confusing especially for those developing policy and services.

Keywords: geriatric medicine; old age psychiatry; public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

References

1. Burholt V. The complexity of loneliness in later life: addressing the issues. loneliness in later life: interventions – what works?, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Available: https://publichealth.ie/ilink/ [Accessed 5-7th Dec 2018].
1. Fried L. Designing a new social infrastructure for 21st century needs. Loneliness in Later Life: Interventions – what works? 5-7th December 2018, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Available: https://publichealth.ie/ilink/
1. Fried L, Prohaska T, Burholt V, et al. . A unified approach to loneliness. Lancet 2020;395:114. 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)32533-4 - DOI - PubMed
1. Golden J. A clinical experience of loneliness – reflections on learning. loneliness in later life: interventions – what works? 5-7th December 2018, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Available: https://publichealth.ie/ilink/
1. Leavey G. Loneliness in Ireland and the Irish Migrants. Loneliness in Later Life: Interventions – what works? 5-7th December 2018, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Available: https://publichealth.ie/ilink/

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Consensus statement: loneliness in older adults, the 21st century social determinant of health?

Affiliations

Consensus statement: loneliness in older adults, the 21st century social determinant of health?

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources