Loeffler, A;
Steptoe, A;
(2020)
Bidirectional longitudinal associations between loneliness and pain, and the role of inflammation.
Pain
10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002082.
(In press).
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Abstract
Pain and loneliness are consistently associated, but the direction of the relationship is uncertain. We assessed bidirectional associations over a 4 year period in a sample of 4,906 men and women (mean 65.1 ± 8.72 years) who were participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. The role of inflammation in these links was also investigated. Pain was defined by reports of being often troubled by pain at a moderate or severe intensity, while loneliness was measured using the shortened UCLA scale. Age, sex, ethnicity, educational attainment, wealth as a marker of socioeconomic resources, marital status, physical activity, and depressive symptoms were included as covariates. We found that baseline loneliness was associated with pain 4 years later after adjusting for baseline pain and other covariates (odds ratio (OR) = 1.25, 95%CI 1.06-1.47, P = 0.007). Similarly, baseline pain independently predicted loneliness 4 years later (OR = 1.34, 95%CI 1.14-1.58, P = 0.001). Associations remained significant after additional adjustment for baseline mobility impairment. Likelihood of pain on follow-up was heightened when baseline loneliness was accompanied by elevated C-reactive protein concentration (OR = 1.50, 95%CI 1.13-2.00, P = 0.006), while inflammation did not predict future loneliness or contribute to the association between baseline pain and future loneliness. Both pain and loneliness are distressing experiences that impact well-being and quality of life. We conclude that there were bidirectional longitudinal relationships between pain and loneliness in this representative sample of older men and women, but that the mechanisms underlying these processes may differ.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Bidirectional longitudinal associations between loneliness and pain, and the role of inflammation |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002082 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002082 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CCBY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | Loneliness; chronic pain; Longitudinal: C-reactive protein |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Behavioural Science and Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10110954 |
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