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Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Jul 26;16(7):e0255088.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255088. eCollection 2021.

Prevalence of loneliness amongst older people in high-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of loneliness amongst older people in high-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Kavita Chawla et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background and objective: Loneliness is associated with increased rates of morbidity and mortality, and is a growing public health concern in later life. This study aimed to produce an evidence-based estimate of the prevalence of loneliness amongst older people (aged 60 years and above).

Study design and setting: Systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of observational studies from high income countries 2008 to 2020, identified from searches of five electronic databases (Medline, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Proquest Social Sciences Premium Collection). Studies were included if they measured loneliness in an unselected population.

Results: Thirty-nine studies reported data on 120,000 older people from 29 countries. Thirty-one studies were suitable for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence estimate of loneliness was 28.5% (95%CI: 23.9% - 33.2%). In twenty-nine studies reporting loneliness severity, the pooled prevalence was 25.9% (95%CI: 21.6% - 30.3%) for moderate loneliness and 7.9% (95%CI: 4.8% - 11.6%) for severe loneliness (z = -6.1, p < 0.001). Similar pooled prevalence estimates were observed for people aged 65-75 years (27.6%, 95%CI: 22.6% - 33.0%) and over 75 years (31.3%, 95%CI: 21.0% - 42.7%, z = 0.64, p = 0.52). Lower levels of loneliness were reported in studies from Northern Europe compared to South and Eastern Europe.

Conclusions: Loneliness is common amongst older adults affecting approximately one in four in high income countries. There is no evidence of an increase in the prevalence of loneliness with age in the older population. The burden of loneliness is an important public health and social problem, despite severe loneliness being uncommon.

Prospero registration: CRD42017060472.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow diagram of included studies.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Results of risk of bias.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Forest plot of loneliness prevalence estimates from 31 included studies.

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Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research (SPCR, 2016DS to D.S). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.