https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4900-4662
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Abstract
Objectives
To evaluate temporal dynamics between loneliness and both objective and subjective health (i.e. functional impairment and self-rated health) in mid- to late-adulthood.
Method
We applied bivariate dual-change-score models to longitudinal data from 3 Swedish twin studies (N = 1,939) to explore dynamic associations between loneliness and health across 3 age ranges (50–69, 70–81, and 82+ years) to investigate whether associations between loneliness and health change with age due to increasing incidence of chronic health conditions and bereavement.
Results
Results showed bidirectional associations between loneliness and both objective and subjective health, with adverse impacts of loneliness observed on subsequent subjective and objective health beginning at age 70. Associations between health and subsequent loneliness were observed after age 82 and varied for subjective and objective health, with subjective health associated with less loneliness and objective health associated with greater loneliness.
Conclusions
Our results indicate dynamic associations between loneliness and health with age in mid- to late-adulthood, with earlier impacts of loneliness on health and later impacts of health on loneliness that vary for objective and subjective measures of health. These findings suggest impacts of health on loneliness may arise later in life when worsening health or mobility interfere with social interaction.
Acknowledgements
Gender in this work was supported by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Aging, The Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation, The Swedish Council for Social Research, and the Swedish Foundation for Health Care Sciences and Allergy Research. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIA/NIH.
Author note
The findings reported in this manuscript have been presented as part of an invited address at the Workshop on Longitudinal Studies in Aspects of Health and Aging in 2019 and in a virtual poster session at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Nordic Congress of Gerontology and a virtual paper presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America in 2021. This work has not been published or submitted elsewhere.
Disclosure statement
The authors of this paper do not have any conflicts of interest.