Commentary - Journal of Mental Health and Aging (2023) Volume 7, Issue 3

The impact of loneliness and social isolation on mental health and longevity

Department of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Neurosciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

*Corresponding Author:

Calheiros Velozo
Department of Developmental Psychology
Faculty of Psychology and Neurosciences
Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
E-mail: elozo@alheiros.ac.com

Received: 25-Apr-2023, Manuscript No. Aajmha-23-104482; Editor assigned: 27-Apr-2023, Pre QC No. Aajmha-23-104482 (PQ); Reviewed: 11-May-2023, QC No. Aajmha-23-104482; Revised: 15-May-2023, Manuscript No. Aajmha-23-104482 (R); Published: 22-May -2023, DOI: 10.35841/aajmha-7.3.145

Citation: Velozo C. The impact of loneliness and social isolation on mental health and longevity. J Ment Health Aging. 2023;7(3):145

Introduction

This study aimed to examine the relationship between social isolation, loneliness, health, social care and longevity of the ageing elderly in order to find out the factors, impact and the different kinds of approaches, care or interventions to reduce the negative impact of ageing. The data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 participants from Thailand and 12 from India, based on convenience and purposive sampling method, consisting equally of 6 males and 6 females from each region. Focus group interviews were also conducted with four administrators of ageing home in India and Thailand in 2018. The study found a number of factors inters related and interchangeable impacting an ageing elder that can significantly increase of being lonely or isolated. The findings provides insights of the solution or interventions to reduce social isolation, loneliness, to ensure a quality life, improving and promoting social care, social integration and enhancing ageing elders’ social relationship, health and developing social engagements in society through policy or program for interventions at the individual, social, political and policy making [1].

Imagine a condition that makes a person irritable, depressed, and self-centered, and is associated with a 26% increase in the risk of premature mortality. Imagine too that in industrialised countries around a third of people are affected by this condition, with one person in 12 affected severely, and that these proportions are increasing. Income, education, sex, and ethnicity are not protective, and the condition is contagious. The effects of the condition are not attributable to some peculiarity of the character of a subset of individuals, they are a result of the condition affecting ordinary people. Loneliness has a significant influence on both physical and mental health. Few studies have investigated the possible associations of loneliness with mortality risk, impact on men and women and whether this impact concerns the situation of being alone (social isolation), experiencing loneliness (feeling lonely) or both. The current study investigated whether social isolation and feelings of loneliness in older men and women were associated with increased mortality risk, controlling for depression and other potentially confounding factors [2].

There are a large group of older individuals suffering from social isolation and loneliness; in fact, the number of older adults affected is increasing due to the large aging population worldwide. Within the United States, the baby boomers are or will be potentially facing social isolation and loneliness in great numbers. The current research literature in this area is difficult to interpret because the variable used to define social isolation and loneliness varies across disciplines when looking at this problem. Intervention research has also produced mixed findings. This article looks at this public health issue by reviewing some of the research in this area and discussing potential interventions. Loneliness is significantly related to health and wellbeing [3].

However, there is little information on the prevalence of loneliness among people with disability or the association between disability, loneliness and wellbeing. The link between hearing impairment and episodic memory was partly mediated by loneliness and social isolation. Interventions to improve the social networks of older adults with hearing impairment are likely to be beneficial in preventing cognitive decline. Thus, the importance of maintaining social relationships among older adults, especially those with hearing impairment is highlighted. There is a rapidly growing interest in the possibility of preventing dementia through risk factor modification. A recent landmark paper on dementia prevention used population attributable fraction modeling to identify nine key factors implicated in the emergence of nearly a third of all dementias in older people [4, 5].

Conclusion

Adolescents are spending more and more time on social media and studying how this is associated to their mental health has become an important focus of research. However, most studies have studied social media use in general and have overlooked the variance in social media activity. That is, the differences in activities within social media. This is a pilot study that sets out to understand whether it is relevant to explore social media as a composite measure while accounting for gender differences.

References

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