Introduction
Exclusion from social relations (ESR) and loneliness in older age are public health concerns that threatens the cohesion of modern societies. The risks of ESR in older age may be gendered, and when describing relational deficits at the extreme, ESR states may be associated with worse quality of life (QoL), more depression (DEP), and rapid cognitive decline.
Material and methods
The studies include cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses from the fourth, sixth, and eight wave of the Survey on Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe. Situational (e.g., marital status), dispositional (i.e., personality traits), and health factors were used as predictors in regression models examining the probability of ESR states in older age, as well as the cross-sectional associations of ESR with QoL and DEP. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine longitudinal associations between ESR states and episodic memory (MEM) decline rates.
Results
The results indicate gender differences in the probability of ESR states, with certain situational factors (e.g., widowed, never married) significantly increasing these probabilities for both genders, while other (e.g., divorce) having a gender-specific significance. Situational factors were more predictive of ESR states than personality traits. Certain ESR states were associated with more DEP and lower QoL in older age, with excluded older women to be more at-risk of DEP. There was evidence for cross-sectional associations of ESR states with episodic memory, but no evidence for longitudinal associations in this respect.
Conclusions
Different types of ESR states are associated with QoL, DEP, and MEM decline in older age. The risks of ESR in older age should be examined from a gender perspective, while the effects of ESR states on memory seem to be temporal, and therefore, probably reversable.
2023.