A Longitudinal Investigation of the Association between Stroke and Loneliness

Emily C Willroth; Payton D Rule; Eileen K Graham; Marjorie L Nicholas; Robin Hattori; Tess Thompson; Lisa Tabor Connor

doi:10.1093/geronb/gbae048

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Association between Stroke and Loneliness

J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2024 Apr 4:gbae048. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbae048. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Emily C Willroth¹, Payton D Rule¹, Eileen K Graham², Marjorie L Nicholas³, Robin Hattori⁴, Tess Thompson⁵, Lisa Tabor Connor⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
² Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
³ Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Department of Occupational Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
⁵ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

PMID: 38572592
DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbae048

Abstract

Objective: The present research examined associations between stroke and long-term trajectories of loneliness.

Methods: We conducted secondary analyses in three large representative panel studies of adults 50 years and older in the U.S., Europe, and Israel: the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA; analytic N=14,992); the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE; analytic N=103,782); and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; analytic N=22,179) .Within each sample, we used discontinuous growth curve modeling to estimate loneliness trajectories across adulthood, and the impact of stroke on loneliness trajectories.

Results: Across all three samples, participants who experienced stroke reported higher levels of loneliness relative to participants who did not experience stroke. In ELSA and HRS (but not SHARE), loneliness levels were higher after stroke onset relative to before stroke onset.

Discussion: This research adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating elevated loneliness among stroke survivors and highlights the need for interventions to increase social connectedness after stroke.

Keywords: Cerebrovascular Disease; Health Event; Recovery; Social Connectedness.