title: Old age and loneliness: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses in the Tampere Longitudinal Study on Aging.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine whether older age is associated with increasing loneliness in people aged 60 and over. Data came from TamELSA, a population-based prospective longitudinal study in Tampere, Finland. The follow-up time was 20 years. Loneliness was measured by a single question--"Do you feel lonely?"--with the possible answers often, sometimes, or never. Cross-sectional analysis showed that the percentage of subjects feeling lonely increased toward older age groups, but in a multivariate analysis, only household composition and social participation were independently associated with loneliness. Longitudinal analysis showed that loneliness increased with higher age. Over a 10-year period, loneliness increased most in those who, at baseline, were married and living alone with their spouse. In conclusion, only a minority of older people continuously suffer from loneliness. Loneliness does increase with age, not because of age per se, but because of increasing disability and decreasing social integration.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Tampere, Finland. marja.jylha@uta.fi
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jylhä
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires