Relationship between loneliness, social isolation and modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease: a latent class analysis
Key result
Loneliness linked to ~140% greater risk of high-risk cardiovascular class membership.
- RRR 2.40
- 95% CI 1.96-2.40
- n=8,218
Why the study?
It was unclear whether individuals with particular clusters of cardiovascular disease risk factors are more strongly affected by loneliness and social isolation.
Do loneliness and social isolation associate with specific clusters of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in adults aged 50+?
Population
8218 adults aged 50+ from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
Comparison
Loneliness and social isolation across latent classes of cardiovascular risk factors
Design
Latent class analysis
Authors
Discussion
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Implication
Loneliness may flag older adults with clustered high-risk CV factors; hypothesis-generating for isolation interventions.
Study Design
Type
Observational (n=8,218)
Structured PICO
Do loneliness and social isolation associate with specific clusters of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in adults aged 50+?
P
Population
8,218 adults aged 50+ from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
I
Intervention
Loneliness and social isolation (exposure)
C
Comparator
Absence of loneliness/isolation (low-risk class reference)
O
Outcome
Latent classes of cardiovascular risk factors (low-risk, high-risk, clinical-risk, and lifestyle-risk)
Main Result
Effect estimate: RRR 2.40 (95% CI 1.96-2.40)
Loneliness and social isolation are significantly associated with high-risk and lifestyle-risk clusters of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in older adults.
Cite This Study
Bu et al. (2021) conducted an observational in Cardiovascular disease risk factors (n=8,218). Loneliness and social isolation vs. Low-risk latent class was evaluated on High-risk latent class membership (RRR 2.40, 95% CI 1.96-2.40). Loneliness was associated with a greater risk of being in the high-risk cardiovascular latent class relative to the low-risk class (RRR 2.40; 95% CI 1.96-2.40).