Loneliness and Emergency and Planned Hospitalizations in a Community Sample of Older Adults

Abstract

Background: Loneliness is as an important prognostic risk factor for poor health among older adults. There is some conflicting evidence showing that loneliness is associated with greater health care use. Objective: To examine whether loneliness is independently associated with both emergency hospitalization and planned hospital inpatient admissions in a population sample of older adults. Design: Nationally representative cross-sectional interviews in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Setting: Private homes in the community. Participants: Randomly selected older people in the community (aged > 65 years, N=2,033). Main outcome measure: Emergency hospitalization and planned hospital admissions. Results: Eleven percent of the sample had an emergency hospitalization and 15% had a planned hospital admission. Forty-two percent reported being bothered by loneliness. A higher frequency of loneliness was associated with emergency hospitalization only (Odds ratio = 1.29, 95% CI 1.08-1.55) and this association was independent of a range of potential confounds in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: In this community based sample of older adults greater loneliness was independently associated with emergency hospitalization, but not planned inpatient admissions.