The dynamics of social isolation among a national sample of community-dwelling older adults

One quarter of older adults in the United States are socially isolated.1 Social isolation is the objective lack of social contact with others and has been linked to adverse health outcomes including death.2, 3 However, episodic social isolation from short-term illness, an acute health event or other life events, may carry very different implications for health outcomes than chronic social isolation, in which a person goes years with few social connections. Most studies examine the prevalence of social isolation at a single point rather than considering it as a circumstance that is intermittent or persistent. The duration of social isolation may influence important health outcomes.4-6 A recent study out of Australia showed that people with long-term health conditions report double the risk of chronic isolation compared to those without a long-term health condition.7 We examine changes in social isolation in older adults using nationally representative cohort data to elucidate potential differences in demographic characteristics between chronic, intermittent, and no social isolation.