Five things to know about loneliness in older adults

Five things to know about loneliness in older adults

Loneliness, an emotional state rather than a mental disorder, can substantially affect the health of older adults, as well as use of health care services. A “Five things to know about …” practice article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) summarizes key points to help clinicians understand the effect of loneliness on older patients.

Loneliness is

    an emotional state of perceived isolation
    common in older adults and linked to declines in health
    1. as harmful as other risk factors for death, such as obesity and smoking

 

    a significant predictor of health care usage
    possibly alleviated by “social prescribing” to connect lonely adults with community supports and social networks

“Our health care system and society are increasingly recognizing loneliness as a serious public health problem, but clinicians are often unprepared to properly assess and manage lonely patients,” says Dr. Nathan Stall, a research fellow at the University of Toronto and Women’s College Research Institute and a geriatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ontario.

Source: Five things to know about loneliness in older adults