Loneliness and its associations with oral and general health and socio-demographic factors in 80- and 90-year-old Swedes.

backgroundLoneliness has a negative impact on well-being and is affected by a multitude of different variables, among these being oral health status. This study assesses tentative associations between perceived loneliness and oral and general health and socio-demographic factors in elderly Swedes.

methodsIn this cross-sectional study, all 80- and 90-year-olds living in two counties in southern Sweden, were sent a questionnaire in 2022. The questionnaire comprised questions on socio-demographic-, general- and oral health-related status. A question on loneliness was included as: "Did you experience more loneliness during the Corona pandemic?" (with alternatives: 1 = "yes, always", 2 = "often", 3 = "seldom", and 4 = "never"). Descriptive analyses and binary multivariable logistic regression analyses both totally and stratified by sex were performed to study the associations between self-reported loneliness and health and socio-demographic factors.

resultsThe total population comprised 8203 individuals (4541 women, 3662 men) out of which 5202 responded (2783 women and 2419 men) giving an overall response rate of 63%. Overall, 34.3% of 90-year-olds reported often or always loneliness compared to 26.9% of 80-year-olds (p < 0.001). Women reported significantly more loneliness than men both in 90-year-olds (40.2% vs. 25.3%; p < 0.001) and in 80-year-olds (32.4% vs. 21.1%; p < 0.001). Loneliness among women was significantly higher in 90-year-olds than 80-year-olds (40.2% vs. 32.4%; p = 0.005), but not so among men (25.3% vs. 21.1%; p = 0.23). Women who were unmarried and perceived they had impaired general health were significantly associated with reported loneliness. Regarding oral parameters, lesser belief about keeping their teeth for their remaining life, night-time xerostomia, taste changes, bleeding gums, bad breath and impact from Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP) were all significantly associated with loneliness. Stratified by sex, the corresponding findings for women were night-time xerostomia, bleeding gums and bad breath, whereas for men, only taste changes and impact from OIDP were associated with loneliness.

conclusionsSeveral oral health-related variables in addition to multiple sociodemographic and health factors are associated with self-reported loneliness. 90-year-olds reported greater loneliness than 80-year-olds and women were more affected by loneliness than men. In addition, women had more oral health-related variables associated with loneliness compared to men.