ArticleBMJ open2019
Is loneliness associated with increased health and social care utilisation in the oldest old? Findings from a population-based longitudinal study.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Living alone and mortality risk in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence and correlates of loneliness and social isolation in the oldest old: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Pooled it
- The 'active reciprocity' ecosystem: senior cohousing as a determinant of social support and cognitive vitality independent of socioeconomic status.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Association Between Loneliness and Mental Health Treatment Utilization in a Prison-Based Substance Use Treatment Population.Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care · 2025Article
- The impact of loneliness on healthcare costs and service utilisation and the cost-effectiveness of loneliness interventions: systematic review.BJPsych open · 2025Review
- Association of loneliness with healthcare transitions and mortality in older adults in Ontario, Canada: a retrospective cohort study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Cognitive function moderates the mediation of resilience in the relationship between perceived receipt of filial piety and loneliness among community-dwelling older adults with multiple long-term conditions.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Broadening the Boundaries of Integrated Care in Response to Necessity: Where Are the Limits for Each Sector, and Who Should Pay for What? Comment on "The Effect of Integrated Care After Discharge From Hospitals on Outcomes Among Korean Older Adults".International journal of health policy and management · 2025Article
- Article
- 'Just snap out of it' - the experience of loneliness in women with perinatal depression: a Meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Effects of Physical Activity Interventions in the Elderly with Anxiety, Depression, and Low Social Support: A Clinical Multicentre Randomised Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Meals on wheels services and the food security of older people.Health & social care in the community · 2022Article
- Primary health care practitioners' perception of patient loneliness in Japanese older adults: A cross-sectional study.SSM - population health · 2022Article
- Article
- Examining the association between loneliness and emergency department visits using Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging (CLSA) data: a retrospective cross-sectional study.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- Living alone as a risk factor for cancer incidence, case-fatality and all-cause mortality: A nationwide registry study.SSM - population health · 2021Article
- Feelings of loneliness and mental health needs and services utilization among Chinese residents during the COVID-19 epidemic.Globalization and health · 2021Article
- Loneliness and Healthcare Use in Older Adults: Evidence From a Nationally Representative Cohort in Northern Ireland-A Cross-Sectional Replication Study.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
- Article
- A Systematic Review of Treatment Options for Grieving Older Adults.Current treatment options in psychiatry · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe present study aimed to examine the impact of loneliness on health and social care service use in the oldest old over a 7-year follow-up.
designProspective study.
settingUK population-based cohort.
participants713 people aged 80 years or older were interviewed at wave 3 of the Cambridge City over-75s Cohort Study. Of these, 665 provided data on loneliness. During 7 years' follow-up, 480 participants left the study, of which 389 due to death. 162 still in the study answered the loneliness question.
main outcome measureUse of health and social care services, assessed at each wave from wave 3 to wave 5.
resultsAt wave 3, of 665 participants who had data on loneliness, about 60% did not feel lonely, 16% felt slightly lonely and 25% felt lonely. Being slightly lonely at wave 3 was associated with a shorter time since last seeing a general practitioner (β=-0.5, 95% CI: -0.8 to -0.2); when examining the association between time-varying loneliness and health and social care usage, being lonely was associated with three times greater likelihood of having contact with community nurses and using meals on wheels services (community nurse contact: incidence rate ratio (IRR)=3.4, 95% CI: 1.4 to 8.7; meals on wheels service use: IRR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.1 to 5.6). No associations between loneliness and other health and social care services use were found.
conclusionLoneliness was a significant risk factor for certain types of health and social care utilisations, independently of participants' health conditions, in the oldest old. Study findings have several implications, including the need for awareness-raising and prevention of loneliness to be priorities for public health policy and practice.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.