Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36918248›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2023

Retrospective cross-sectional study examining the association between loneliness and unmet healthcare needs among middle-aged and older adults using the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging (CLSA).

Stephanie Chamberlain, Rachel D Savage, Susan E Bronskill, Lauren E Griffith, Paula Rochon, Jesse Batara, Andrea Gruneir

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.0field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Stephanie ChamberlainFaculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada sachambe@ualberta.ca.ORCID 0000-0001-9602-3060
Rachel D SavageWomen's College Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-2746-373X
Susan E BronskillICES, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-7341-0655
Lauren E GriffithDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-2794-9692
Paula RochonWomen's College Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-5973-4151
Jesse BataraDepartment of Family Medicine, University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Andrea GruneirWomen's College Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
University of Alberta · CAUniversity of Toronto · CAImpact · CAWomen's College Hospital · CA

Funding

CIHR 170313CIHR 430201
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesOur primary objective was to estimate the association between loneliness and unmet healthcare needs and if the association changes when adjusted for demographic and health factors. Our secondary objective was to examine the associations by gender (men, women, gender diverse). DESIGN, SETTING,

participantsRetrospective cross-sectional data from 44 423 community-dwelling Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging participants aged 45 years and older were used. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Unmet healthcare needs are measured by asking respondents to indicate (yes, no) if there was a time when they needed healthcare in the last 12 months but did not receive it.

resultsIn our sample of 44 423 respondents, 8.5% (n=3755) reported having an unmet healthcare need in the previous 12 months. Lonely respondents had a higher percentage of unmet healthcare needs (14.4%, n=1474) compared with those who were not lonely (6.7%, n=2281). Gender diverse had the highest percentage reporting being lonely and having an unmet healthcare need (27.3%, n=3), followed by women (15.4%, n=887) and men (13.1%, n=583). In our logistic regression, lonely respondents had higher odds of having an unmet healthcare need in the previous 12 months than did not lonely (adjusted odd ratios (aOR) 1.80, 95% CI 1.64 to 1.97), adjusted for other covariates. In the gender-stratified analysis, loneliness was associated with a slightly greater likelihood of unmet healthcare needs in men (aOR 1.90, 95% CI 1.64 to 2.19) than in women (aOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.53 to 1.95). In the gender diverse, loneliness was also associated with increased likelihood of having an unmet healthcare need (aOR 1.38, 95% CI 0.23 to 8.29).

conclusionsLoneliness was related to unmet healthcare needs in the previous 12 months, which may suggest that those without robust social connections experience challenges accessing health services. Gender-related differences in loneliness and unmet needs must be further examined in larger samples.

Indexed as

AgingHealth Services Needs and DemandLonelinessAgedCanadaCross-Sectional StudiesDelivery of Health CareFemaleGender EquityHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesSex FactorsSexual and Gender Minoritiesepidemiologyhealth services administration & managementsocial medicine

Identifiers

PMID36918248
PMCPMC10016309
OpenAlexW4324195780

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

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.