Background: Social isolation and loneliness pose major global public health challenges. However, the impact of these variables on the life expectancy of Chinese individuals has not been explored. Therefore, we aimed to examine the separate and joint associations of social isolation and loneliness with life expectancy and the sex-specific variations in these associations in middle-aged and older adults in China.
Methods: This study used the data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) that includes a nationally-representative sample of people aged 45 years or above. A flexible parametric Royston-Parmar model was used to estimate hazard ratios for all-cause mortality and predict life expectancy differences.
Results: In total, 11,321 participants were included (mean age, 58.40 years; men, 46.63%). During a median follow-up of approximately 9.0 years, 599 deaths were recorded. At age 45 years, men who were socially isolated lost 2.55 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.08, 5.02) years in life expectancy compared to that in those who were not isolated; combined with loneliness, their life expectancy decreased by 4.15 (95% CI 0.33, 7.97) years compared to that in those without isolation and loneliness. However, social isolation or loneliness did not impact premature mortality or life expectancy in women.
Conclusions: Social isolation was significantly associated with reduced life expectancy in men, and this effect was exacerbated when combined with loneliness. These findings highlight the importance of social connection interventions to increase longevity in men who are socially isolated.

Authors:
Meng Zhao, Shandong University, China

About the Presenter(s)
Zhao Meng, PhD, Associate Research Professor, .and Master's Supervisor at the School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Shandong University

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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