(Press-News.org) CHICAGO – Loneliness in individuals over 60 years of age appears associated with increased risk of functional decline and death, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.
In older persons, loneliness can be a common source of distress and impaired quality life, according to the study background.
Carla M. Perissinotto, M.D., M.H.S., of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues examined the relationship between loneliness and risk of functional decline and death in older individuals in a study of 1,604 participants in the Health and Retirement Study.
The participants (average age 71) were asked if they felt left out, isolated or a lack of companionship. Of the participants, 43.2 percent reported feeling lonely, which was defined as reporting one of the loneliness items at least some of the time, according to the study results.
Loneliness was associated with an increased risk of death over the six-year follow-up period (22.8 percent vs. 14.2 percent), the results indicate. Loneliness also was associated with functional decline, including participants being more likely to experience decline in activities of daily living (24.8 percent vs. 12.5 percent), develop difficulties with upper extremity tasks (41.5 percent vs. 28.3 percent) and difficulty in stair climbing (40.8 percent vs. 27.9 percent).
"Loneliness is a common source of suffering in older persons. We demonstrated that it is also a risk factor for poor health outcomes including death and multiple measures of functional decline," the authors comment.
The authors conclude their study could have important public health implications.
"Assessment of loneliness is not routine in clinical practice and it may be viewed as beyond the scope of medical practice. However, loneliness may be as an important of a predictor of adverse health outcomes as many traditional medical risk factors," the researchers note. "Our results suggest that questioning older persons about loneliness may be a useful way of identifying elderly persons at risk of disability and poor health outcomes."
(Arch Intern Med. Published online June 18, 2012. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2012.1993. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)
Editor's Note: This project was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging. Authors also disclosed support. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Invited Commentary: What are We Really Measuring?
In an invited commentary, Emily M. Bucholz, M.P.H., and Harlan M. Krumholz, M.D., S.M., of the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., write: "Social support – few concepts in epidemiology have proven more elusive to define."
"As we look forward to future studies on social support, the importance of clarifying the mechanisms by which this amorphous concept influences health becomes clear," they continue.
"Loneliness is a negative feeling that would be worth addressing even if the condition had no health implications. Nevertheless, with regard to health implications, scientists examining social support should build on studies such as those published in this issue and be challenged to investigate mechanisms as well as practical interventions that can be used to address the social factors that undermine health," the authors conclude.
(Arch Intern Med. Published online June 18, 2012. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2012.2649. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)
Editor's Note: One author chairs a cardiac scientific advisory board for UnitedHealth and disclosed other grant support. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
###
To contact Carla M. Perissinotto, M.D., M.H.S., call Leland Kim at 415-502-9553 or email leland.kim@ucsf.edu. To contact corresponding commentary author Emily M. Bucholz, M.P.H., call Karen Peart at 203-432-1326 or email karen.peart@yale.edu.
Study links loneliness in older individuals to functional decline, death
2012-06-19
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
UC Santa Cruz researchers find increase in Lyme disease mirrors drop in red fox numbers
2012-06-19
SANTA CRUZ, Ca.--A continued increase of Lyme disease in the United States, once linked to a recovering deer population, may instead be explained by a decline of the red fox, UC Santa Cruz researchers suggest in a new study.
The team's findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveal that although deer populations have stabilized, Lyme disease has increased across the northeastern and midwestern United States over the past three decades. The increase
coincides with shrinking populations of the red fox, which feeds on small mammals, ...
Roe Taroff Taitz and Portman Announce Significant Suffolk County Bar Association Committee Appointments
2012-06-19
The Suffolk County Bar Association, one of the largest voluntary bar associations in the State of New York which represents the lawyers of Suffolk County, has appointed two attorneys from Roe Taroff Taitz & Portman, LLP to chair significant association committees. Partner Elliott M. Portman has been appointed for a fourth term as chair of the Creditor's Rights Committee. Counselor Christine R. Shiebler has been appointed to a two-year term as co-chair of the Surrogate's Court Committee, a role that partner John J. Roe III most recently held.
"These independent ...
Living alone associated with higher risk of mortality, cardiovascular death
2012-06-19
CHICAGO – Living alone was associated with an increased risk of death and cardiovascular death in an international study of stable outpatients at risk of or with arterial vascular disease (such as coronary disease or peripheral vascular disease), according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.
Social isolation may be associated with poor health consequences, and the risk associated with living alone is relevant because about 1 in 7 American adults lives alone. Epidemiological evidence suggests that social isolation ...
Study suggests laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery appears to be safer than open procedure
2012-06-19
CHICAGO – A study that examined national outcome differences between laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass suggests that the minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure was associated with greater safety and used fewer resources because of shorter hospital stays and less cost, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Surgery, a JAMA Network publication.
A major public health concern, obesity has been associated with such adverse health conditions as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and some cancers. Bariatric ...
Survey finds surgical interns concerned about training duty-hour restrictions
2012-06-19
CHICAGO – A survey of surgical interns suggests many of them believe that new duty-hour restrictions will decrease continuity with patients, coordination of care and time spent operating, as well as reduce their acquisition of medical knowledge, development of surgical skills and overall educational experience, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Surgery, a JAMA Network publication.
In July 2011, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) implemented new resident duty-hour standards, including more supervision and a 16-hour shift ...
Diabetes, poor glucose control associated with greater cognitive decline in older adults
2012-06-19
CHICAGO – Among well-functioning older adults without dementia, diabetes mellitus (DM) and poor glucose control among those with DM are associated with worse cognitive function and greater cognitive decline, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology, a JAMA Network publication.
Findings from previous studies have suggested an association between diabetes mellitus and an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia, including Alzheimer disease, but this association continues to be debated and less is known regarding incident DM in late ...
Study suggests that psoriasis may be associated with development of type 2 diabetes
2012-06-19
CHICAGO – A population-based study from the United Kingdom suggests that the common skin condition psoriasis may be a risk factor for the development of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), according to a report published Online First by Archives of Dermatology, a JAMA Network publication.
Psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by scaling of the skin, affects 2 percent to 4 percent of the adult population, according to the study background.
Rahat S. Azfar, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and colleagues used data from The Health Improvement ...
Refrigerated Food Express, Inc. Donates a Refrigerated Trailer for the Pan Mass Challenge for Food Storage
2012-06-19
Continuing an annual tradition, trucking transport company Refrigerated Food Express, Inc. will once again donate the use of one of their 53-foot long refrigerated trailer for the 2012 Pan Mass Challenge. Refrigerated trailers are traditionally used for food transport and storage, and will be utilized for that purpose once again this year. With the trailer provided by Refrigerated Food Express, cyclists from across Massachusetts will have energy and refreshment as they engage in the important fight against cancer.
The Pan Mass Challenge is a large-scale fundraiser presented ...
Study suggests link between smoking, increased risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
2012-06-19
CHICAGO – Smoking appears to be associated with an increased risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer, according to a report of a meta-analysis and review of available medical literature published Online First by Archives of Dermatology, a JAMA Network publication.
About 97 percent of skin cancers are epithelial (cells that cover the skin) in origin and are either basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) or squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), which are collectively known as nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). The incidence of NMSC is increasing worldwide with an estimated 2 ...
Study examines chronic inflammation in oral cavity and HPV status of head and neck cancers
2012-06-19
CHICAGO – Among patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, a history of chronic inflammation in the mouth (periodontitis, i.e. gum disease) may be associated with an increased risk of tumors positive for human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a report published Online First by Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, a JAMA Network publication.
The National Cancer Institute has reported a steady increase in the prevalence of oropharyngeal cancers in the United States since 1973, despite a significant decline in tobacco use since 1965, according to ...