ReviewFrontiers in aging2025
The effectiveness of social support interventions on loneliness among older people in the community: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Review in Frontiers in aging, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Quality of Life, Active Ageing, Social Support and Loneliness in Older Adults Attending Day Centres: A Descriptive Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers of soft tissue injury and their association with postoperative outcomes in intertrochanteric femoral fractures: A retrospective study.International orthopaedics · 2026Article
- The complex of gut microbial metabolites and sex hormones in Alzheimer's disease.Seminars in immunopathology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: To combat loneliness among elderly individuals, it is crucial to identify effective strategies that can alleviate the negative impact of loneliness on their overall well-being. Objective: This study evaluated social support programs' impact on loneliness in community-dwelling older adults. The goal was to inform tailored interventions that decrease loneliness and improve quality of life. Methods: We systematically searched ten electronic databases (EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, Weipu, WanFang, CBM) from inception to December 31, 2023, with citation chasing. Included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) tested social support interventions for loneliness reduction. Two independent reviewers extracted participant details, study characteristics, interventions, and outcomes. The methodological rigor of the included studies was assessed by JBI critical appraisal checklists. Results: Nineteen studies met inclusion criteria, with over half from China (n = 7) and the United States (n = 4). Meta-analysis showed that social support helped alleviate loneliness and the difference was statistically significant [SMD = -0.60, 95% Conclusion: Social support interventions effectively reduce loneliness among community-dwelling older adults. For practical application, community health professionals are encouraged to implement short-term (≤3 months) multicomponent programs that combine emotional, peer, and technological support, delivered through group counseling, tele-support, or structured social activities. Integrating these interventions into routine community nursing services and local age-friendly programs may enhance mental wellbeing and social connectedness among older adults.
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Registered trials
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.