Older adults who’re socially remoted are more likely to finish up in a nursing residence, a examine has discovered.
Eight researchers printed the examine Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. They examined 11,517 adults aged 65 and older residing independently who participated in a nationwide well being and retirement examine in seven waves from March 1, 2006, to June 30, 2018.
Among the 15% of seniors who reported experiencing social isolation in a standardized well being questionnaire, larger isolation scores “were significantly associated with increased odds of nursing home placement and skilled nursing facility stays” inside two years, the researchers reported.
With every level improve in a senior citizen’s social isolation rating for a spread of questions on a 0-6 scale, the examine discovered that “the estimated probability of nursing home placement or a skilled nursing facility stay increased by 0.5 and 0.4 percentage points, respectively, during 2 years.”
On the opposite hand, the examine additionally discovered that larger ranges of social isolation didn’t improve seniors’ possibilities of being hospitalized.
The findings construct on a rising physique of analysis into the well being dangers of residing alone, the examine famous.
“Efforts to deter or delay nursing home entry should seek to enhance social contact at home or in community settings,” the researchers wrote. “The design and assessment of interventions that optimize the social connections of older adults have the potential to improve their health trajectories and outcomes.”
The examine comes as extra adults report residing alone than at some other time in U.S. historical past, fueling issues a couple of looming elder care disaster.
According to the latest Census Bureau knowledge, 27.6% of all households had just one resident in 2020. That is greater than triple the 1940 determine of seven.7%.
A Pew Research Center evaluation of information going again 50 years discovered {that a} record-high 25% of 40-year-olds in 2021 had by no means married, up from 20% in 2010. Most lived alone, with simply 22% of never-married adults ages 40 to 44 reporting final 12 months that they cohabitated with a romantic associate.
According to the examine printed Monday, an estimated one-fourth of all seniors within the U.S. expertise social isolation, which researchers outlined as “an objective lack of social contact that complicates the ability to age at home or in the community.”
“Social isolation is of particular concern for older adults, who often experience bereavement or kinlessness or live alone despite needing additional support to manage complex health conditions,” the researchers wrote.
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