Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1432701
This article is part of the Research Topic International Perspectives on Older Adult Social Isolation and Loneliness View all 32 articles

The Unique and Synergistic Effects of Social Isolation and Loneliness on 20-years Mortality Risks in Older Men and Women

Provisionally accepted
Marja Aartsen Marja Aartsen 1*Hanna Vangen Hanna Vangen 1George Pavlidis George Pavlidis 2Thomas Hansen Thomas Hansen 3Iuliana Precupetu Iuliana Precupetu 4
  • 1 Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway
  • 2 Karlstad University, Karlstad, Värmland, Sweden
  • 3 Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  • 4 Research Institute for Quality of Life, Bucharest, Romania

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction -This study investigates the individual and combined impacts of loneliness and social isolation on 20-year mortality risks among older men and women.Methods -Utilizing data from the Norwegian Life Course, Ageing, and Generation study (NorLAG) carried out in 2002, 2007 and 2017, we assessed loneliness via direct and indirect questions, and social isolation through factors like partnership status and contact frequency with family and friends. Yearly information on mortality was derived from the national registries and was available until November 2022. Gender-stratified Cox regression models adjusted for age and other risk factors were employed. Results -Of the 11,028 unique respondents, 9,952 participants were included in the study sample, 1,008 (19.8%) women and 1,295 (26.6%) men died. In the fully adjusted models including indirectly assessed loneliness, social isolation increased the 20-year mortality risk by 16% (HR=1.16, 95% CI 1.09-1.24) for women and 15% (HR=1.15, 95% CI 1.09-1.21) for men. This effect was primarily driven by the absence of a partner and little contact with children for both genders. Loneliness measured with indirect questions lost its significant association with mortality after adjusting for social isolation and other factors in both genders. However, for men, reporting loneliness via a direct question was associated with a higher mortality risk, even in the fully controlled models (HR=1.20, 96% CI 1. 06-1.36). Interactions between loneliness and social isolation were not, or only borderline significantly, associated with mortality risks in the fully controlled models. Discussion -Social isolation, but not loneliness measured with indirect questions are associated with a 15-16% higher mortality risk in both men and women. However, loneliness assessed with a direct question is associated with increased mortality in men, even after controlling for social isolation and other relevant factors, which might suggest that men may deny loneliness, unless it is (very) severe. These findings emphasize the importance of methodological precision in the measurement of loneliness and social isolation.

    Keywords: Loneliness, Social Isolation, Mortality, older adults, Aging, longitudinal study, Norway

    Received: 14 May 2024; Accepted: 07 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Aartsen, Vangen, Pavlidis, Hansen and Precupetu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Marja Aartsen, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.