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Lonely in the City–Sociodemographic Status and Somatic Morbidities as Predictors of Loneliness and Depression among Seniors–Preliminary Results

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  • Kasper Sipowicz

    (Department of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies, The Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw, Szczesliwicka 40, 02-353 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Marlena Podlecka

    (Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw, Department of Neuroses, Personality Disorders and Eating Disorders, Sobieskiego 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Łukasz Mokros

    (Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Łódź, Kopcinskiego 22, 90-153 Łódź, Poland)

  • Tadeusz Pietras

    (Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw, Second Department of Psychiatry, Sobieskiego 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland)

Abstract

Up to a third of the population of older adults has been estimated to suffer from feelings of loneliness, which is considered a risk factor of depression. The aim of this paper is to compare the perceived level of loneliness and depression in seniors living in the country and in the cities and assess somatic morbidity and sociodemographic status as predictors of loneliness and depressiveness. n = 92 older adults in primary care units filled out a set of questionnaires: authors’ survey on sociodemographic data and morbidities, Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI, to measure depressiveness) and De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (DJGLS, to assess loneliness). There was a strong, positive and statistically significant correlation between the BDI and DJGLS scores (R = 0.855, p < 0.001). City residents had on average higher BDI and DJGLS scores. Linear regression models were constructed to predict BDI and DJGLS scores. The set of statistically significant predictors were similar for BDI and DJGLS. Sociodemographic status and somatic morbidities accounted for around 90% of variance of depressiveness and loneliness scores in the studied group. Living alone was found to be the strongest relative predictor of both loneliness and depressiveness in the studied sample of the older adults. Our current results suggest that there might be a need to improve social support in the late adulthood as an intervention to diminish the sense of loneliness and depressiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Kasper Sipowicz & Marlena Podlecka & Łukasz Mokros & Tadeusz Pietras, 2021. "Lonely in the City–Sociodemographic Status and Somatic Morbidities as Predictors of Loneliness and Depression among Seniors–Preliminary Results," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-11, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:14:p:7213-:d:589138
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Laura Ponce de León & Jean Pierre Lévy Mangin & Soledad Ballesteros, 2020. "Psychosocial Determinants of Quality of Life and Active Aging. A Structural Equation Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-10, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rachelle Meisters & Polina Putrik & Daan Westra & Hans Bosma & Dirk Ruwaard & Maria Jansen, 2021. "Is Loneliness an Undervalued Pathway between Socio-Economic Disadvantage and Health?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-13, September.

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