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Prevalence and determinants of loneliness among the oldest old living in institutionalized settings : Study findings from a representative survey
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Prevalence and determinants of loneliness among the oldest old living in institutionalized settings : Study findings from a representative survey

André Hajek, Larissa Zwar, Razak M Gyasi, Benedikt Kretzler and Hans-Helmut König
Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie, Vol.57, pp.214-219
05/2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-023-02196-x
PMID: 37266683
Appears in  Recent National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine Publications
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Abstract

80 and over Loneliness Depression Social exclusion Social isolation Institutionalization
Background There is very limited knowledge regarding the prevalence and determinants of loneliness in oldest old residents of nursing or old age homes. Objective To examine the prevalence and determinants of loneliness among the oldest old living in institutionalized settings in Germany. Material and methods Data were taken from the representative survey on quality of life and subjective well-being of the very old in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW80+) including individuals ≥ 80 years living in North Rhine-Westphalia. The study focused on individuals living in institutionalized settings. Sociodemographic, lifestyle-related, and health-related determinants were included in multiple linear regression models. Results Approximately 56.6% of the individuals were not lonely, 25.7% and 17.8% of the individuals were moderately and severely lonely, respectively. Regression analyses showed that higher loneliness was associated with being married (β = 0.48, p < 0.05), high education (compared to low education, β = 0.46, p < 0.05), having a small social network size (β = −0.02, p < 0.05), having poor self-rated health (β = −0.25, p < 0.05), and more depressive symptoms (β = 0.25, p < 0.001). Conclusion A significant proportion of the institutionalized oldest old individuals reported moderate or severe loneliness, which underpins the relevance of this topic. Understanding the determinants of loneliness may help to address institutionalized adults aged 80 years and over at risk of loneliness.

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