Loneliness, a year-round health issue, is exacerbated during the holidays

INDIANAPOLIS – While loneliness is a year-round problem for older adults, it can be exacerbated during the holiday season as the air resounds with the sights, sounds and smells of celebration when many older adults are missing the social connections they once had or wish they had.

Loneliness is a significant -- but often ignored -- health issue

Loneliness influences health more than being obese. Statistically, its more harmful than smoking more than 15 cigarettes a day or alcoholism.

Studies have found that the effects of loneliness are more influential on health than being an alcoholic, being physically inactive and being obese combined, says Regenstrief Institute Research Scientist Monica Williams-Farrelly, PhD, a life course health researcher.

Lonely older adults are less likely to be physically active, to eat nutritious foods and to do things that lead to or maintain better health. They are more likely to experience depression and anxiety.

Evidence suggests that when older adults experience loneliness overall quality of life declines.

Countering the holiday blues

Loneliness can be especially challenging around holidays for those who are missing social connections -- especially if they have had a recent loss,” says Dr. Williams-Farrelly. “The pandemic increased our ability to interact with others virtually. We shouldn't discount the importance of hopping on Zoom or doing Face Time with an older adult you can’t be with physically to counter their holiday blues.

“Older adults may need some help with the technology part, so If there is someone a bit tech savvy around who can help an older adult connect with friends and family, not only is the door open to communication with those near and distant, a new social connection has been made, it’s a win-win for diminishing social isolation and loneliness.”

A former social worker, she also suggests clinicians screen their patients for loneliness and offer age-appropriate resources.

Older adults more likely to experience loneliness than other age groups

Whether they live alone or not, older adults are more prone to loneliness than other age groups due to the changing nature of social interactions as one ages. Often their children have moved out of the house and, along with grandchildren, may live far away. Older adults are more likely to be retired with few, if any, interactions with coworkers. Also, older adults are more likely to have spouses or partners who are no longer living or to have lost other family members, such as parents or siblings, who would have been sources of social interaction.

More than half of older adults experience loneliness

In a study published earlier this year, Dr. Williams-Farrelly and colleagues found that 53 percent of older adults experience loneliness.

Lonely older adults are less likely to be physically active and less likely to eat in a healthy manner, contributing to poor health outcomes.

Monica M. Williams-Farrelly, PhD
Monica M. Williams-Farrelly, PhD, is a research scientist at the IU Center for Aging Research at Regenstrief Institute. She is an early career scholar whose research interests focus broadly on the life course origins of health and health disparities. She completed her undergraduate studies at Butler University, received her M.A. from Indiana University – Indianapolis, and earned her PhD in sociology and gerontology from Purdue University. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.