Loneliness and social isolation among older adults: Findings from the general population-based study “Good Aging in Skåne”

Social isolation and loneliness among older adults have been linked with several health issues, including depression, cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, and mortality. However, associations of social isolation and loneliness with mental and somatic symptoms, sleep disturbances, and medication use are unclear. The aim of this thesis was to investigate these associations in a population-based cohort of olderadults.Paper I (cross-sectional, n=5804) examined prevalences of loneliness and social isolation and associations of these conditions with mental and somatic symptoms. 60% of participants reported loneliness feelings at least occasionally, and 6% were socially isolated. Multivariable linear and logisticregression models revealed associations of loneliness and social isolation with symptoms.Paper II (longitudinal, n=2897) investigated associations of social isolation and loneliness with sleep disturbances at the 6-year re-examination. Social isolation and loneliness at baseline were in a multivariable logistic regression model associated with increased likelihood of reporting sleep disturbances at the 6-year re-examination.Paper III (longitudinal, n=1526 in loneliness analysis, n=2556 in social isolation analysis) explored associations of incident polypharmacy with occurrence of loneliness and social isolation. Multivariable logistic regression models indicated that those with polypharmacy had increased risk of reportingoccurrence of social isolation and loneliness during follow-up.Paper IV (cross-sectional, n=6714) analysed associations of polypharmacy, psychotropic-, neurological-, and/or anticholinergic fall-risk-increasing drugs (pnaFRIDs), and cardiovascular drugs with social isolation and loneliness. pnaFRIDs were in multivariable logistic regression models associated with increased odds of reporting loneliness.In conclusion, this thesis shows that social isolation and loneliness were associated with mental and somatic symptoms and sleep disturbances. Polypharmacy was associated with occurrence of social isolation and loneliness and pnaFRIDs were associated with loneliness.