Document Type
Abstract
Publication Date
2024
DOI
10.1093/geroni/igae098.2542
Publication Title
Innovation in Aging
Volume
8
Issue
Suppl. 1
Pages
782-783
Conference Name
The GSA 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting, November 13-16, 2024, Seattle, Washington
Abstract
Social isolation and loneliness are associated with poor health and quality of life as well as decreased longevity. This study examines patterns of change in self-reported isolation and loneliness, and factors associated with these patterns, using data from 1,474 cognitively normal participants followed annually for up to 12 years in a population-based cohort study of older adults. Composite measures of isolation and loneliness were created, and trajectory analyses were conducted to detect patterns of change in these composites over time. Multinomial logistic regression tested associations of baseline demographic, health, and lifestyle factors with patterns of change in isolation and loneliness. Trajectory analyses revealed three patterns of change in isolation - slowly decreasing, slowly increasing, and quickly increasing; and three patterns of change in loneliness - stable, increasing, and decreasing. Participants who had ever smoked, currently drank alcohol, were physically active, had hypertension, used the computer, and were not obese at baseline were less likely to be in the quickly increasing isolation pattern. Those with greater isolation and loneliness at baseline, who lived alone, were obese, did not have daytime sleepiness, and rated health as very good or excellent were more likely to be in the increasing loneliness pattern. Distinct patterns of change in isolation and loneliness were found over 12 years with different factors associated with risk for changing isolation and loneliness over time. Understanding characteristics of participants associated with change in isolation and loneliness over time may help to identify older adults for interventions.
Rights
© The Authors 2024.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Original Publication Citation
Hughes, T., Fang, F., Wang, Y., & Jacobsen, E. (2024). Risk and protective factors for increasing isolation and loneliness among older adults. Innovation in Aging, 8(Suppl. 1), 782-783. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igae098.2542
Repository Citation
Hughes, T., Fang, F., Wang, Y., & Jacobsen, E. (2024). Risk and protective factors for increasing isolation and loneliness among older adults. Innovation in Aging, 8(Suppl. 1), 782-783. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igae098.2542
