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Loneliness and risk of mortality: A longitudinal investigation in Alameda County, California

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  • Patterson, Andrew C.
  • Veenstra, Gerry

Abstract

We investigated the prospective impact of self-reported loneliness on all-cause mortality, mortality from ischemic disease and mortality from other cardiovascular diseases. We tested these effects through GEE binomial regression models applied to longitudinal data from the Alameda County Study of persons aged 21 and over arranged into person-years. Controlling for age and gender, the chances of all-cause mortality were significantly higher among respondents reporting that they often feel lonely compared to those who report that they never feel lonely. Frequent loneliness was not significantly associated with mortality from ischemic heart disease but more than doubled the odds of mortality from other ailments of the circulatory system in models controlling for age and gender. Subsequent models showed that physical activity and depression may be important mediators of loneliness-mortality associations. Finally, we find support for the contention that chronic loneliness significantly increases risk of mortality but also find reason to believe that relatively recent changes in feelings of loneliness increase risk of mortality as well.

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  • Patterson, Andrew C. & Veenstra, Gerry, 2010. "Loneliness and risk of mortality: A longitudinal investigation in Alameda County, California," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 181-186, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:1:p:181-186
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    1. Muñoz-Laboy, M. & Hirsch, J.S. & Quispe-Lazaro, A., 2009. "Loneliness as a sexual risk factor for male Mexican migrant workers," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(5), pages 802-810.
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    2. Friedman, Esther M. & Karlamangla, Arun S. & Almeida, David M. & Seeman, Teresa E., 2012. "Social strain and cortisol regulation in midlife in the US," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(4), pages 607-615.
    3. Luo, Ye & Hawkley, Louise C. & Waite, Linda J. & Cacioppo, John T., 2012. "Loneliness, health, and mortality in old age: A national longitudinal study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(6), pages 907-914.
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    5. Lara, Elvira & Moreno-Agostino, Darío & Martín-María, Natalia & Miret, Marta & Rico-Uribe, Laura Alejandra & Olaya, Beatriz & Cabello, María & Haro, Josep Maria & Ayuso-Mateos, José Luis, 2020. "Exploring the effect of loneliness on all-cause mortality: Are there differences between older adults and younger and middle-aged adults?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    6. Beere, Paul & Keeling, Sally & Jamieson, Hamish, 2019. "Ageing, loneliness, and the geographic distribution of New Zealand's interRAI-HC cohort," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 227(C), pages 84-92.
    7. Natasja Schutter & Tjalling J. Holwerda & Hannie C. Comijs & Max L. Stek & Jaap Peen & Jack J. M. Dekker, 2022. "Loneliness, social network size and mortality in older adults: a meta-analysis," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1057-1076, December.
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    9. Philip Baiden & Wendy Dunnen & Barbara Fallon, 2017. "Examining the Independent Effect of Social Support on Unmet Mental Healthcare Needs Among Canadians: Findings from a Population-Based Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 1229-1246, February.
    10. Laura Alejandra Rico-Uribe & Francisco Félix Caballero & Natalia Martín-María & María Cabello & José Luis Ayuso-Mateos & Marta Miret, 2018. "Association of loneliness with all-cause mortality: A meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(1), pages 1-21, January.
    11. Cristina Giudici & Silvia Polettini & Alessandra Rose & Nicolas Brouard, 2019. "Which Aspects of Elderly Living Conditions are Important to Predict Mortality? The Complex Role of Family Ties at Home and in Institutions," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 1255-1283, April.

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