In July 2020, our paper “Frailty Combined with Loneliness or Social Isolation: An Elevated Risk for Mortality in Later Life” was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. In this paper we investigated the combined impact of physical frailty with loneliness or social isolation on mortality in older adults, using data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. The results of the study revealed that frail older adults are at increased risk of mortality, but this risk is even higher for those who are also lonely or socially isolated. The paper concludes that to optimize well‐being and health outcomes in physically frail older adults, targeted interventions focusing on both subjective and objective social vulnerability are needed. The results are extremely relevant in the current situation, with increasing social isolation and loneliness due to Covid-19 measures, which may disproportionally affect frail older adults.
The paper is the result of a collaborative project with Melissa Andrew from Canada, and an internship project of BSc Health Sciences student Annelot Smit (VU University, Amsterdam).
The article is published as OPEN ACCESS paper. So, you can download it for free.
Interested in collaborating with us? Or interested in doing an internship with us? Please see our page with contact information.
