Loney Adults Don't Live Long

Lonely older adults are more likely to live shorter lives than their peers and spend less of their remaining life in good health or being active, according to a new study in Singapore and Japan.

The study categorically quantifies for the first time the affects of loneliness in old age on life and health expectancy.

“We found that lonely older adults can expect to live a shorter life than their peers who don’t perceive themselves as lonely,” says lead author Rahul Malhotra, assistant professor and head of research at Duke-NUS’ Centre for Aging Research and Education (CARE). “Furthermore, they pay a penalty for their shorter life by forfeiting potential years of good health.”

“Besides being the year associated with the coronavirus disease, 2019 was also when the number of adults aged over 30 made up half the total global population for the first time in recorded history, marking the start of an increasingly aging world,” says senior author Angelique Chan, associate professor and executive director of CARE. “In consequence, loneliness among seniors has become an issue of social and public health concern.”

“This study is timely because stay-at-home and physical distancing measures instituted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic have only intensified concern for the mental and physical well-being of older persons,” says Yasuhiko Saito from the College of Economics at Nihon University and a senior coauthor of the study.

COLLECTIVISTIC VS. INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURES
The study findings show that people aged 60, who perceive themselves to be sometimes lonely or mostly lonely, can expect to live three to five years less, on average, compared to peers who perceive themselves as never lonely. Similarly, at ages 70 and 80, lonely older people can, on average, expect to live three to four and two to three years less, respectively, compared to non-lonely peers.

Using the same dataset, the researchers found that the perception of loneliness has a similar effect on two types of health expectancy—remaining years of life lived in a self-rated state of good health as well as remaining years of life lived without being limited when going about “activities of daily living.” Such activities include routines like bathing and dressing, rising from or settling into a bed or chair, and preparing meals.  TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...