Sociodemographics, functional ability, chronic conditions, and loneliness in older US adults in the 2020 wave of HRS

TL;DR

This study explores how loneliness is linked to health, chronic conditions, and functional ability in older US adults during 2020.

Contribution

The study identifies significant correlations between loneliness and factors like depression, motor impairment, and BMI in older adults.

Findings

Loneliness was significantly correlated with depression, motor impairment, and BMI.

Arthritis, hypertension, and diabetes were the most prevalent chronic conditions.

Functional impairments were reported in mobility tasks like walking and rising from a chair.

Abstract

Loneliness is a known determinant of poor health outcomes and a priority for community-dwelling older adults. This analysis describes relationships among loneliness, determinants of health, functional ability, and chronic illnesses for community-dwelling adults 50 and older in the US during 2020. SPSS was used for analysis on the Rand longitudinal data file with 4,520 cases (60.1% female) selected from Wave 15 who complete data on the UCLA-11 The mean age was 69.23 (SD 10.06), with 71.1% reported as Caucasian and 19.2% reported as Black. Majority (86.1%) were reported as not Hispanic and married (57.1%) and 82.6% had completed high school or higher. The average annual household income was less than $20,000 and 34.2% reported ongoing financial strain with 19.5% reported housing problems. Participants averaged 8.66 (SD 12.74) doctor visits since 2018 and over 2 days per month with family helpers. The median was 2 chronic conditions (range 0-8), with high prevalence for arthritis (63.3%), hypertension (62.7%), diabetes (26.9%), heart disease (24.4%), and cancer (17%). Functional impairment for basic ADLs was low except for 33.3% reporting difficulty getting up from a chair but 27.7% reported trouble walking several blocks and 14.2% reported difficulty walking one block. Though 52.2 % reported smoking in their lifetime, only 9.4% reported current smoking. Significant correlations of loneliness (p < .001) included depression (CES-D scores), fine and gross motor impairment, and BMI. Wellness and prevention interventions that are community-based would have potential to diminish chronic conditions and emphasize functional ability which could diminish likelihood of loneliness.