Loneliness and isolation among older Americans have mostly returned to pre-pandemic levels, but that still means more than a third of people ages 50 to 80 feel lonely, and nearly as many feel lonely. isolated, a new national study shows.
And some older adults (especially those facing significant physical or mental health problems) still have much higher rates of loneliness and social isolation than others.
The new findings, from a review of six years of data from the National Survey on Healthy Aging (https://www.healthyagingpoll.org/), are published in JAM by a team from the Institute for Health Policy and Innovation at the University of Michigan.
Beginning in 2018, and most recently earlier this year, the survey asked older adults across the country how often they had felt like they lacked companionship (the subjective feeling of being alone or lonely) and felt isolated from others. others (the experience of social isolation). . The survey is supported by AARP and Michigan Medicine, UM’s academic medical center.
The most recent data shows that in 2024, 33% of older adults felt lonely sometimes or often in the past year, about the same rate as in 2018 (34%). During the intervening years, up to 42% of older adults had this level of loneliness.
Similarly, 29% of older adults said they felt isolated some of the time or often in 2024, just above the 27% rate seen in 2018. During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, 56% of older adults said they had felt isolated. experienced this level of isolation, but the rate has decreased each year since.
“At first glance, this might seem like great news, that we’re back to where we were before COVID-19 hit. But that baseline wasn’t good, and it was especially bad for some groups of older adults, who continue to have higher rates. very high rates of loneliness and social isolation,” said Preeti Malani, MD, MSJ, lead author of the study and professor of internal medicine at the UM School of Medicine. “One of the biggest differences now is that we recognize more the impact of loneliness and isolation on health, especially as we age.” Malani serves as a senior advisor to the survey, which she led from 2017 to 2022.
The groups of older adults with the highest rates of loneliness in 2024 were:
- Those who said their mental health is fair or poor: 75% (in 2018 it was 74%)
- Those who said their physical health is fair or poor: 53% (up from 50% in 2018)
- Those who were not working or receiving disability income (does not include retirees): 52% (up from 38% in 2018)
The groups with the highest rates of social isolation in 2024 were:
- Those who said their mental health is fair or poor: 77% (slightly up from 79% in 2018)
- Those who said their physical health is fair or poor: 52% (up from 43% in 2018)
- Those who were not working or receiving disability income (does not include retirees): 50% (up from 36% in 2018)
These rates for 2024 are double, or even more, the rates of loneliness and isolation seen among older adults who said their physical or mental health was excellent, very good or good, or among those who were working or retired.
“These trends make it clear: Doctors should view loneliness and isolation as a key factor in the lives of their patients, especially those with serious physical or mental illnesses,” says survey director Jeffrey Kullgren, MD, MPH, MS, associate professor of internal medicine at UM and primary care physician at VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.
“We should consider screening our patients for these problems and connecting them with resources in their communities, whether it be a senior center, veterans groups, volunteer opportunities, or services offered by an Area Agency on Aging or other community organizations.” , said.
Other key findings:
Overall, adults ages 50 to 64 were more likely than those ages 65 to 80 to say they felt lonely or isolated in all years of the survey, and rates had not fallen back to pre-pandemic rates for those from 50 to 64 years in 2024.
Similarly, those with household incomes less than $60,000 and those who live alone were more likely to say they sometimes or often felt lonely or isolated than those with higher incomes or those who lived with other people, a finding that was consistent in most years. However, rates in 2024 for those living alone were lower than for those living with others.
More about loneliness and isolation in older adults:
The new study is based on evidence collected by US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, and his team and published in an official notice in May 2023.
The AARP Foundation has created an initiative called Connect2Affect, which offers resources to help older adults combat social isolation and loneliness for themselves and others: https://connect2affect.org/
Malani and colleagues published a JAMA patient page on social isolation in May 2024; is available for free (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2819153) and is designed for doctors to share with patients.
About the survey:
The data in the new JAMA paper comes from six NPHA presentations between 2018 and 2024, most of which asked older adults to report how often they felt a lack of companionship or felt isolated from others during the year. past. The survey conducted in June 2020 asked participants to reflect on the past three months. The survey is not longitudinal: the sample from each field was unique. The survey sample ranged in size from 2033 to 2563 and the organization administering the survey changed once, beginning in 2022. More details on NPHA’s methodology are found at: https://www.healthyagingpoll.org/survey-methods
Read NPHA’s reports on loneliness and isolation among older adults here: https://www.healthyagingpoll.org/national-reports
In addition to Malani and Kullgren, the authors of the new JAMA research letter are election team members Erica Solway, Ph.D., MSW, MPH, Matthias Kirch, MS, Dianne Singer, MPH, and J. Scott Roberts, Ph. .D. . Malani is an associate editor at JAMA but was not involved in the article’s review process.