We all know that spending time among friends and family is important not only for the sake of being socially active, but also to have that feeling of being relationally fulfilled. A new study has established a new reason to remain connected as it found loneliness among the elderly may put them at a greater risk for death and functional decline – making relationships and personal interaction more important than ever.
A new six-year study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine has found that people over the age of 60 who struggled with loneliness had a 45 percent higher risk of death than those who felt well-surrounded and connected. In fact, researchers found that the risk of death for people who were lonely was 23 percent, as compared to 14 percent for those who weren’t.
So what does this mean? People, social lives, healthy surroundings are important. And that as we age, it becomes increasingly necessary to stay connected as to avoid loneliness and the health risks that come along with it.
To conduct the study, researchers analyzed the relationship between loneliness, functional decline, and death in more than 1,600 participants in the U.S., over the age of 60. An initial assessment was taken in 2002, with follow-up assessments taking place every two years thereafter until 2024. (more…)
