One in four older adults say they feel isolated from other people at least some of the time, and one in three say they lack regular companionship, a national poll conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation showed.
The National Poll on Healthy Aging, posted on the website of the University of Michigan on Monday, has its results based on responses from a nationally representative sample of 2,051 adults aged 50 to 80 who answered a wide range of questions online.
The poll shows that the feeling of loneliness showed up most in people aged 50 to 80 who also reported they had health issues and unhealthy habits, and people who said they had fair or poor physical health, mental health or hearing were more likely to report that they felt isolated or lacked companions.
Meanwhile, people who said they ate healthy diets, exercised, got enough sleep or didn't use tobacco were less likely to report feelings of loneliness.
The new findings amplify research that has shown links between chronic loneliness and health issues ranging from memory loss to shorter lives.
The poll also found that those who were unemployed, lived in lower-income households, lived alone or had one or more children living with them were more likely to say they lacked companionship, and living alone was highly associated with feeling lonely, with 60 percent of those who lived alone reported feeling a lack of companionship and 41 percent feeling isolated.
Meanwhile, 36 percent of women said they lacked companionship often or some of the time, compared with 31 percent of men.
One in five respondents who reported feeling socially isolated said they had fair or poor hearing, compared with about one in 10 of those who said they hardly ever felt isolated.
"As we grow older and mobility or hearing becomes more of a barrier, these poll data show the importance of maintaining and strengthening our ties to other people," said poll director Preeti Malani.
