For many young people, a weekend spent alone can sometimes feel like dying. But for their elders, loneliness can literally spell an early death. While this is hardly a surprise for anyone dealing with older people as they progressively face bereavement and isolation, a recent study by the University of California in San Francisco has finally crunched the numbers. Its results are alarming.
The researchers, led by Dr. Carla M. Perissinotto, interviewed 1,604 seniors with an average age of seventy-one years. They were asked among other things to what extent they felt isolated, lonely, and in need of companionship.
Forty-three percent of the respondents stated that they felt lonely. Then, six years later, 22.8 percent of these persons were dead, compared with only 14.2 percent of those who had not felt lonely.
It appears that loneliness is associated with a greater risk of losing vital functions, including the ability to climb steps and to manage the basic routines of everyday life, such as cooking, shopping, laundry, basic hygiene etc. Other research cited in the study describes a greater risk for sleep loss, cardiovascular dysfunction and depression among lonely elders. These factors add up to a drastically curtailed life expectancy, preceded by a significant decline in the quality of that life.
According to the study,
(l)oneliness is an important contributor to human suffering, especially in elderly persons, among whom prevalence rates may be higher. Loneliness is the subjective feeling of isolation, not belonging, or lacking companionship. While persons who are lonely are more likely to experience depressive symptoms, feelings of loneliness are only weakly associated with enjoyment, energy, and motivation—emotions that are central to a diagnosis of depression.
In discussion solutions to this problem, the study states that
(o)n the basis of our findings, we hypothesize that health outcomes in older people may be improved by focusing on policies that promote social engagement and, more importantly, by helping elders develop and maintain satisfying interpersonal relationships. These findings suggest a need to look into interventions that explore strategies of mitigating loneliness, such as diverse living arrangements and telephone support.
Drastic changes are clearly needed in social welfare policies aimed at older citizens, but don’t expect the financially strapped and ethically challenged US healthcare industry to respond overnight. So this weekend, pick up the phone and ring up that aged parent or relative, or else consider stopping by your elderly neighbor’s place for a cup of tea and a chat. You won’t just be brightening a day. You might be saving a life.
You can read the full study, Loneliness in Older Persons: A Predictor of Functional Decline and Death, here.
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Comments
R♥
Even doctors - or should I say - particularly doctors, who act determined to keep us alive until the very last second possible, don't seem to understand that death, to many of us, is not the big bad boogey-man that it is to younger people. We understand that there comes a time when it is fit for us to move on. Some expect to go to a heaven and eternal life of another kind; others, like myself are not believers and expect (hope) that when our life is over, it's over.
What IS frightening is the thought of dying badly; dying in much pain and/or with lost control of our bodily functions.
For those of us who care to do so, there is much to do that is worthwhile if we are alone in our senior years. I, at 71, am more busy now than I was when doing business. The great glorious difference is that when I was in business, I had responsibilities that HAD TO be dealt with; my time was not my own. Now, even though busier, I am doing what I WISH to do. What a difference!!
I have a whole community of friends on-line. I bought a 5th wheel RV trailer this spring and intend to drive across Canada to spend the winters in B.C. Heck, I may even sell my house here on PEI and hit the road permanently!
Can younger people ever understand that someone like me can be perfectly "ready to go" whenever the time comes but still be having a ball in the interim? Perhaps one must reach a certain stage of contentment before one can understand such an apparently contradictory attitude.
Good blog Judy!
This, and other questions of mortality, ought to be discussed much more and much more openly than is our custom here in North America. There is too great a misunderstanding between generations and only frank and open discussions can dispel that lack of understanding.
"R"
.
I do completely agree that we must keep our elderly engaged, they have too much to offer in terms of knowledge and spirit. Leaving them alone in their own homes or in an organized home, is a waste.
We get too busy in our own little lives and then regret when they are gone. Its a simple matter of allowing them to contribute what they can, because everyone has something to contribute, just find out what it is.
When we've lived with, taken care, and shared a live with a spouse and then lose them, this type of alone is the most difficult. You can be in a crowd of people and still feel alone. This may be the most "alone" feeling in the world.
Rated
Yes, a pet is a huge help - often more understanding and more patient than a person.
Skye,
Wow, you've got a fantastic attitude! More power to you!
Jan,
Thanks. It's true, being young can be very scary too. Actually, fear of the future is something all human beings share. Too bad they can't get together!
Asia,
Alone in a crowd - that's how many senior care facilities appear to me.
Phyllis and Heidi,
Thanks for stopping by!
I'm never quite satisfied that there's not a way to bring seniors and the very young together.. so many of our kids have lost the ability to actually listen to - and want to comprehend - the tales that seniors can tell. I've always thought that communities should arrange for seniors to sit in at grade schools for a few hours a day, that grade schools should promote field trips to senior care home centers. These should be requirements.
With computer technology there's no reason that seniors and children (of all ages) couldn't be brought together in an online forum as a part of an ongoing curriculum.
Let the middle age group go on about their rat race.. if we can bring the two ends of life together so that they can learn to appreciate each other, perhaps by the time the youngsters are the middle group they'll be more inclined to lay out a better and more balanced direction for their future (provided they survive the future that appears to be coming for all of us currently).
Rated for wearing my rose colored glasses again.