IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0211143.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Examining individual and geographic factors associated with social isolation and loneliness using Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) data

Author

Listed:
  • Verena H Menec
  • Nancy E Newall
  • Corey S Mackenzie
  • Shahin Shooshtari
  • Scott Nowicki

Abstract

Background: A large body of research shows that social isolation and loneliness have detrimental health consequences. Identifying individuals at risk of social isolation or loneliness is, therefore, important. The objective of this study was to examine personal (e.g., sex, income) and geographic (rural/urban and sociodemographic) factors and their association with social isolation and loneliness in a national sample of Canadians aged 45 to 85 years. Methods: The study involved cross-sectional analyses of baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging that were linked to 2016 census data at the Forward Sortation Area (FSA) level. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between personal factors and geographic factors and social isolation and loneliness for the total sample, and women and men, respectively. Results: The prevalence of social isolation and loneliness was 5.1% and 10.2%, respectively, but varied substantially across personal characteristics. Personal characteristics (age, sex, education, income, functional impairment, chronic diseases) were significantly related to both social isolation and loneliness, although some differences emerged in the direction of the relationships for the two measures. Associations also differed somewhat for women versus men. Associations between some geographic factors emerged for social isolation, but not loneliness. Living in an urban core was related to increased odds of social isolation, an effect that was no longer significant when FSA-level factors were controlled for. FSAs with a higher percentage of 65+ year old residents with low income were consistently associated with higher odds of social isolation. Conclusion: The findings indicate that socially isolated individuals are, to some extent, clustered into areas with a high proportion of low-income older adults, suggesting that support and resources could be targeted at these areas. For loneliness, the focus may be less on where people live, but rather on personal characteristics that place individuals at risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Verena H Menec & Nancy E Newall & Corey S Mackenzie & Shahin Shooshtari & Scott Nowicki, 2019. "Examining individual and geographic factors associated with social isolation and loneliness using Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-18, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0211143
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211143
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0211143
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0211143&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0211143?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Finlay, Jessica M. & Kobayashi, Lindsay C., 2018. "Social isolation and loneliness in later life: A parallel convergent mixed-methods case study of older adults and their residential contexts in the Minneapolis metropolitan area, USA," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 25-33.
    2. Julianne Holt-Lunstad & Timothy B Smith & J Bradley Layton, 2010. "Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(7), pages 1-1, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kung, Claryn S. J. & Pudney, Stephen & Shields, Michael A., 2021. "Economic Gradients in Social Health in Britain," IZA Discussion Papers 14731, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Claryn S. J. Kung & Johannes S. Kunz & Michael A. Shields, 2021. "Economic Aspects of Loneliness in Australia," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 54(1), pages 147-163, March.
    3. Kung, Claryn S.J. & Pudney, Stephen E. & Shields, Michael A., 2022. "Economic gradients in loneliness, social isolation and social support: Evidence from the UK Biobank," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    4. Zeinab Hosseini & Gerry Veenstra & Nadia A Khan & Annalijn I Conklin, 2020. "Associations between social connections, their interactions, and obesity differ by gender: A population-based, cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-19, July.
    5. Rebechi, Alessio & Lepinteur, Anthony & Clark, Andrew E. & Rohde, Nicholas & Vögele, Claus & D’Ambrosio, Conchita, 2024. "Loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from five European countries," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    6. Haosen Sun & Markus Schafer, 2022. "Close ties, near and far away: patterns and predictors of geographic network range among older Europeans," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 699-716, September.
    7. Francisca Ortiz & Elisa Bellotti, 2021. "The Impact of Life Trajectories on Retirement: Socioeconomic Differences in Social Support Networks," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(4), pages 327-338.
    8. Anusuya Dhar & Judith Needham & Michelle Gibb & Elisabeth Coyne, 2020. "The outcomes and experience of people receiving community‐based nurse‐led wound care: A systematic review," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(15-16), pages 2820-2833, August.
    9. Roger O’Sullivan & Annette Burns & Gerard Leavey & Iracema Leroi & Vanessa Burholt & James Lubben & Julianne Holt-Lunstad & Christina Victor & Brian Lawlor & Mireya Vilar-Compte & Carla M. Perissinott, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Multi-Country Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-18, September.
    10. Thijs van den Broek & Jack Lam & Cecilia Potente, 2024. "Do middle-aged and older people underreport loneliness? experimental evidence from the Netherlands," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-10, December.
    11. Elizabeth Casabianca & Matija Kovacic, 2022. "Loneliness and health among the elderly.The role of cultural heritage and relationship quality," Working Papers 2022:01, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    12. Rea Alonzo & Kelly K. Anderson & Rebecca Rodrigues & Neil Klar & Paolo Chiodini & Manuel Montero-Odasso & Saverio Stranges, 2022. "Does Shiftwork Impact Cognitive Performance? Findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-11, August.
    13. Rachel V. Herron & Nancy E. G. Newall & Breanna C. Lawrence & Doug Ramsey & Candice M. Waddell & Jennifer Dauphinais, 2021. "Conversations in Times of Isolation: Exploring Rural-Dwelling Older Adults’ Experiences of Isolation and Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Manitoba, Canada," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-14, March.
    14. Casabianca, Elizabeth & Kovacic, Matija, 2024. "Social interactions, loneliness and health: A new angle on an old debate," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1378, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    15. Casabianca, Elizabeth & Kovacic, Matija, 2024. "Historical roots of loneliness and its impact on second-generation immigrants’ health," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 407-437.
    16. Verena H Menec & Nancy E Newall & Corey S Mackenzie & Shahin Shooshtari & Scott Nowicki, 2020. "Examining social isolation and loneliness in combination in relation to social support and psychological distress using Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging (CLSA) data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(3), pages 1-20, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Claryn S. J. Kung & Johannes S. Kunz & Michael A. Shields, 2021. "Economic Aspects of Loneliness in Australia," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 54(1), pages 147-163, March.
    2. Kung, Claryn S.J. & Pudney, Stephen E. & Shields, Michael A., 2022. "Economic gradients in loneliness, social isolation and social support: Evidence from the UK Biobank," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    3. Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis & Helder Fernando Pedrosa Sousa & Andreia de Moura & Lilian M. F. Viterbo & Ricardo J. Pinto, 2019. "Health Behaviors as a Mediator of the Association Between Interpersonal Relationships and Physical Health in a Workplace Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-9, July.
    4. Santini, Ziggi Ivan & Jose, Paul E. & Koyanagi, Ai & Meilstrup, Charlotte & Nielsen, Line & Madsen, Katrine R. & Koushede, Vibeke, 2020. "Formal social participation protects physical health through enhanced mental health: A longitudinal mediation analysis using three consecutive waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in E," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    5. Fernando L Vázquez & Patricia Otero & J Antonio García-Casal & Vanessa Blanco & Ángela J Torres & Manuel Arrojo, 2018. "Efficacy of video game-based interventions for active aging. A systematic literature review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-24, December.
    6. Regina Kuppen & Mirjam de Leede & Jolanda Lindenberg & David van Bodegom, 2023. "Collective Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases in an Ageing Population with Community Care," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-14, February.
    7. Joanne Brooke & Maria Clark, 2020. "Older people’s early experience of household isolation and social distancing during COVID‐19," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(21-22), pages 4387-4402, November.
    8. Clément Meier & Jürgen Maurer, 2022. "Buddy or burden? Patterns, perceptions, and experiences of pet ownership among older adults in Switzerland," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1201-1212, December.
    9. Jintao Li & Yan Dai & Cynthia Changxin Wang & Jun Sun, 2022. "Assessment of Environmental Demands of Age-Friendly Communities from Perspectives of Different Residential Groups: A Case of Wuhan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-20, July.
    10. Nakagomi, Atsushi & Tsuji, Taishi & Saito, Masashige & Ide, Kazushige & Kondo, Katsunori & Shiba, Koichiro, 2023. "Social isolation and subsequent health and well-being in older adults: A longitudinal outcome-wide analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
    11. Haywantee Ramkissoon, 2021. "Social Bonding and Public Trust/Distrust in COVID-19 Vaccines," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-6, September.
    12. Paulette M. Yamada & Joe Priest, 2022. "Utilizing a Team Kinesiology Model to Support Rehabilitative Care in Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-13, February.
    13. Alexander Langenkamp, 2021. "Lonely Hearts, Empty Booths? The Relationship between Loneliness, Reported Voting Behavior and Voting as Civic Duty," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(4), pages 1239-1254, July.
    14. Escarce, José J. & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2018. "Immigration and the Health of Older Natives in Western Europe," GLO Discussion Paper Series 228, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    15. Timothy B Smith & Connor Workman & Caleb Andrews & Bonnie Barton & Matthew Cook & Ryan Layton & Alexandra Morrey & Devin Petersen & Julianne Holt-Lunstad, 2021. "Effects of psychosocial support interventions on survival in inpatient and outpatient healthcare settings: A meta-analysis of 106 randomized controlled trials," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(5), pages 1-25, May.
    16. Zilun Xiao & Yufang Zhao & Yingcan Zheng & Yan Bao & Chao Zhang, 2022. "The Effect of Group Identification on Death Anxiety: The Chain Mediation Role of Close Relationships and Self-Esteem," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-9, August.
    17. Escarce, José J. & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2021. "Effect of immigration on depression among older natives in Western Europe," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    18. Cristina Liébana-Presa & Elena Andina-Díaz & María-Mercedes Reguera-García & Iván Fulgueiras-Carril & David Bermejo-Martínez & Elena Fernández-Martínez, 2018. "Social Network Analysis and Resilience in University Students: An Approach from Cohesiveness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-13, September.
    19. Sinha, Kompal & Davillas, Apostolos & Jones, Andrew M. & Sharma, Anurag, 2021. "Do socioeconomic health gradients persist over time and beyond income? A distributional analysis using UK biomarker data," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    20. Rosenberg, Rachel, 2019. "Social networks of youth transitioning from foster care to adulthood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0211143. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.