What question did this study set out to answer?

This analysis aims to understand how social and physical isolation relate to preventive care uptake and material deprivation.

March 26, 2026The Annals of Family Medicine0 citationsOpen Access

Associations of Social and Physical Isolation With Material Deprivation and Inadequate Use of Preventive Care in the United States

JRJacob RieglerCambridge Health Alliance SHSunny Han LSLora Stoianova

Key Points

This analysis aims to understand how social and physical isolation relate to preventive care uptake and material deprivation.
Utilized data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Assessed social and physical isolation through self-reports and transportation barriers
Examined associations with preventive care services including several vaccinations and cancer screenings
31.9% reported social isolation; 8.2% reported physical isolation
Social isolation linked to lower breast and colorectal cancer screening rates post-adjustment
Physical isolation connected to decreased rates of influenza vaccination, breast, and colorectal cancer screenings

Abstract

PURPOSE A better understanding of the association of isolation with preventive care uptake and material deprivation—2 potential drivers of worse health outcomes among isolated individuals—could inform health policy to mitigate the health harms of isolation. METHODS We analyzed data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Our exposures were self-reported social isolation and physical isolation (assessed from transportation barriers). We examined the association of each form of isolation with indicators of material deprivation and with the uptake of 6 recommended preventive care services (COVID, influenza, and pneumococcal vaccinations, and cervical, colorectal, and breast cancer screenings). RESULTS Our population included 281,592 adult respondents; 82,816 (31.9%) reported social isolation and 18,181 (8.2%) reported physical isolation. In unadjusted analyses, each form of isolation was associated with reduced uptake of preventive care services. After multivariate adjustment, social isolation remained associated with reduced uptake of 2 services—breast cancer screening (adjusted odds ratio AOR = 0.70; 95% CI, 0.65-0.76) and colorectal cancer screening (AOR = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.85-0.97)—and physical isolation remained associated with reduced uptake of 3 services—influenza vaccination (AOR = 0.89; 95% CI, 0.82-0.97), breast cancer screening (AOR = 0.57; 95% CI, 0.49-0.66), and colorectal cancer screening (AOR = 0.81; 95% CI, 0.71-0.93). CONCLUSION Social isolation and physical isolation are associated with reduced preventive care use, but adjustment for material deprivation substantially attenuates these associations. Policies to foster social connectedness and alleviate transportation barriers may improve health outcomes, but intervention on socioeconomic factors will likely also be necessary.

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