Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42536335›Full record

ArticleDrugs & aging2026

Loneliness and Initiation of Potentially Inappropriate Pain and Psychotropic Medications: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Rachel D Savage, Susan E Bronskill, Andrea Gruneir, Alexa Boblitz, Jun Guan, Azmina Altaf, Rachel Strauss, Claudia Sanmartin, Laura C Rosella, Nathan M Stall and 6 more

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Article in Drugs & aging, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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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

16 authors.

Rachel D SavageWomen's Age Lab, Women's College Hospital, 76 Grenville Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5S 1B2, Canada. rachel.savage@wchospital.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2746-373X
Susan E BronskillWomen's College Research and Innovation Institute, Women's College Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Andrea GruneirDepartment of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Alexa BoblitzICES, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Jun GuanICES, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Azmina AltafICES, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Rachel StraussICES, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Claudia SanmartinAnalytical Studies and Modelling Branch, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Laura C RosellaICES, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Nathan M StallWomen's Age Lab, Women's College Hospital, 76 Grenville Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5S 1B2, Canada.
Stephanie A ChamberlainFaculty of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Lisa M McCarthyWomen's College Research and Innovation Institute, Women's College Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Xuesong WangICES, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Christina YuWomen's Age Lab, Women's College Hospital, 76 Grenville Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5S 1B2, Canada.
Tomi OdugbemiICES, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Paula A RochonWomen's College Research and Innovation Institute, Women's College Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Funding

CIHR PJT-162221
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLoneliness is associated with high-risk medication use in older adults in cross-sectional studies, but the direction of this relationship is unclear.

objectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the association between loneliness and initiation of potentially inappropriate pain and psychotropic medications, and test for sex interactions.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of community-dwelling respondents to the Canadian Community Health Survey-Healthy Aging who were interviewed between December 1, 2008, and November 30, 2009, aged ≥66 years, and Ontario residents. Self-reported loneliness was defined at baseline as a score of ≥6 on the Three-Item Loneliness Scale. Survey responses were linked to health records; respondents were followed for 3 years to assess initiation of a potentially inappropriate pain or psychotropic medication, defined using the 2019 American Geriatrics Society's Beers Criteria. We used weighted Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and tested for sex interactions.

resultsOf 2348 respondents (female 54.6%, mean age 75.4 years), 383 (12.3%) were lonely. Compared with those who were not lonely, lonely female respondents had higher rates of initiating potentially inappropriate pain medications (HR at 90 days: 1.57, 95% CI 0.96-2.27; 630 days: 1.52, 95% CI 1.05-2.12; 1080 days: 3.22, 95% CI 1.22-7.78) and potentially inappropriate psychotropic medications, but the latter estimates were imprecise. No association was found in males.

conclusionLonely older females initiate potentially inappropriate pain and psychotropic medications at higher rates than those who are not lonely. Screening for loneliness could prioritize patients for medication reviews, possible deprescribing, and interventions that address root causes.

Indexed as

Inappropriate PrescribingLonelinessPainPsychotropic DrugsAgedAged, 80 and overCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleOntarioRetrospective StudiesPsychotropic Drugs

Identifiers

PMID42536335

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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.