Loneliness is defined as an unpleasant feeling of disconnection, isolation, and a lack of affection or love. It has recently been recognized as a public health concern. Loneliness is a growing public health issue. The prevalence rate is high among older adults who are the focus of targeted interventions. Education, gender, family structure, health, employment status, and chronic illness can contribute to loneliness. The relationship between socio-demographic factors, age, and loneliness is multifaceted and nuanced. Loneliness can lead to different health issues like coronary heart disease, depression, low physical activity, and dementia. An effective strategy is essential to reduce.
A harmonized study published in Aging & Mental Health evaluates the link between age, loneliness, demographic factors, and health using data from 64,324 older adults aged 50 to 90 years in 29 countries. The data were collected using large-scale datasets, such as the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), and the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS). It assesses inequality in health in different age groups and explains age-related loneliness by using concentration indices (COIN). It also identifies general and national factors that contribute to loneliness throughout the life span. Longitudinal surveys of older adults from 29 countries in North America and Europe were used. Data collection was affected because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (ULS-3) is a short and accurate method to evaluate the social exclusion, isolation, and lack of companionship, which has been used to measure loneliness. The scores vary from 0 to 6. It examined sociodemographic factors like education, sex, employment, child and marital status, and health-related factors like depression, smoking, self-rated health, functional limit, and obesity. These factors were standardized across the countries for comparison. The COIN evaluates the pattern of loneliness by age and demographic factors. Older adults who have a positive COIN are lonelier, and middle-aged or younger adults who have a negative COIN are even more lonely.
The study investigated data from 29 different countries among older adults to assess the age-related inequality in loneliness. The average age was 68 years, with 58% of the population being women. Self-rated health and education levels changed significantly across countries, with 75.3% in Latvia and 19.1% in Switzerland. Loneliness scores range from 1.7 in Cyprus and Greece (the highest) to 0.4 in Denmark (the lowest), with a comparison by age and loneliness. In Spain and Latvia, loneliness was prevalent among older adults.
Countries like Luxembourg, Israel, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria showed little to no age-related inequality. The Netherlands and the US had negative COIN values. Being unmarried, single, or divorced is associated with a positive COIN value of 0.1531 with respect to age. Not working (19.8%), unmarried (16.1%), depression (12.9%), and poor health (9.9%) were the main factors contributing to age-related loneliness. Factors like obesity, sex, and childlessness had the minimum impact on the loneliness. 20% of the inequality was unexplained, but it was mainly connected to the middle-aged adults.
A limitation of this study was the low response rate in some countries, specifically in the European SHARE surveys, which may have impacted the results. Variation in results may have occurred because of the cross-country variation in disclosures of physical and emotional disease, specifically stigmatized diseases like depression.
Age inequality in loneliness and other factors can vary significantly across countries. This suggests that loneliness is not a normal consequence of age, but is instead influenced by the environment in countries.
Reference: Richardson RA, Harper S, Keyes KM, Crowe CL, Calvo E. Contributors to age inequalities in loneliness among older adults: a decomposition analysis of 29 countries. Aging Ment Health. doi:10.1080/13607863.2025.2473634
