Abell, JG;
Steptoe, A;
(2021)
Why is living alone in older age related to increased mortality risk? A longitudinal cohort study.
Age and Ageing
, Article afab155. 10.1093/ageing/afab155.
(In press).
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Living alone has been associated with increased mortality risk, but it is unclear whether this is a result of a selection effect or the impact of stressful life changes such as widowhood or divorce leading to changes in living arrangements. We therefore examined the association between living alone, transitions in living arrangements and all-cause mortality. METHOD: We analysed data from 4,888 individuals who participated in both wave 2 (2004-2005) and wave 4 (2008-2009) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Transitions in living arrangements over this period were identified. Mortality status was ascertained from linked national mortality registers. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to examine the association between living alone and mortality over an average 8.5 year follow-up period. RESULTS: An association was found between living alone at wave 4 and mortality (hazard ratio (HR): 1.20, 95% CI 1.04-1.38) in a model adjusted for multiple factors including socioeconomic status, physical health, health behaviours and loneliness. We also found that participants who moved to living alone after divorce or bereavement had a higher risk of mortality compared with those who lived with others at both time points (HR: 1.34, 95% CI 1.01-1.79), while those who moved to living alone for other reasons did not show an increased mortality risk. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between living alone and mortality is complicated by the reasons underlying not living with others. A greater understanding of these dynamics will help to identify the individuals who are at particular health risk because of their living arrangements.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Why is living alone in older age related to increased mortality risk? A longitudinal cohort study |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1093/ageing/afab155 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afab155 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com |
| Keywords: | Living alone, marital transitions, loneliness, ageing, mortality, older people |
| 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/10132131 |
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