Social Isolation and Its Impact on the Health Status of Older People in the Community: A Narrative Review
Dublin Core
Title
Social Isolation and Its Impact on the Health Status of Older People in the Community: A Narrative Review
Subject
aged, social
isolation, loneliness,
older people’s
health problems
isolation, loneliness,
older people’s
health problems
Description
Introduction: Older people often face multifaceted challenges
encompassing physical, psychological, and social dimensions. Among
these, social isolation is a significant concern, frequently resulting from
age-related degenerative changes, the loss of loved ones, or abandonment
by family members. Numerous studies have indicated that social isolation
can adversely affect the health and well-being of older people. However,
comprehensive syntheses of recent research examining the impact of
social isolation on the health status of community-dwelling older people
remain limited and insufficiently explored. This study aimed to identify
and summarize the latest findings regarding social isolation's impact on
older people's health status.
Methods: This narrative review design used databases PubMed, Science
Direct, and EBSCOhost. Keywords include "social isolation" OR "loneliness"
AND "older people". Literature selection was carried out non-
systematically and analyzed descriptively.
Results: Our search found 87 articles; 11 met the inclusion criteria. Most
studies were from China (4), the United States (3), and others from
England, Brazil, and Colombia. Key finddings indicated that older people
living with social isolation have a high risk of depression, cognitive decline,
dementia, Alzheimer's disease, changes in biochemical parameters in
blood glucose and triglycerides, physical weakness and disability,
difficulties in ADL and IADL, disorders, low self-assessment of health, risk
of falls, low utilization of health care facilities, poor emotional well-being,
and higher risk of death.
Conclusion: Social isolation has been shown to have a very negative impact
on the health status of older people. Community nurses need to enhance
the implementation of home visit programs to support socially isolated
older people better. Future research should focus on conducting
longitudinal and intervention-based studies to investigate the causal
relationships between social isolation and health outcomes.
encompassing physical, psychological, and social dimensions. Among
these, social isolation is a significant concern, frequently resulting from
age-related degenerative changes, the loss of loved ones, or abandonment
by family members. Numerous studies have indicated that social isolation
can adversely affect the health and well-being of older people. However,
comprehensive syntheses of recent research examining the impact of
social isolation on the health status of community-dwelling older people
remain limited and insufficiently explored. This study aimed to identify
and summarize the latest findings regarding social isolation's impact on
older people's health status.
Methods: This narrative review design used databases PubMed, Science
Direct, and EBSCOhost. Keywords include "social isolation" OR "loneliness"
AND "older people". Literature selection was carried out non-
systematically and analyzed descriptively.
Results: Our search found 87 articles; 11 met the inclusion criteria. Most
studies were from China (4), the United States (3), and others from
England, Brazil, and Colombia. Key finddings indicated that older people
living with social isolation have a high risk of depression, cognitive decline,
dementia, Alzheimer's disease, changes in biochemical parameters in
blood glucose and triglycerides, physical weakness and disability,
difficulties in ADL and IADL, disorders, low self-assessment of health, risk
of falls, low utilization of health care facilities, poor emotional well-being,
and higher risk of death.
Conclusion: Social isolation has been shown to have a very negative impact
on the health status of older people. Community nurses need to enhance
the implementation of home visit programs to support socially isolated
older people better. Future research should focus on conducting
longitudinal and intervention-based studies to investigate the causal
relationships between social isolation and health outcomes.
Creator
I Gede Putu Darma Suyasa1*
Source
https://doi.org/10.37363/bnr.2025.63501
Date
23 July 2025
Contributor
Peri Irawan
Format
pdf
Language
english
Type
text
Files
Collection
Citation
I Gede Putu Darma Suyasa1*, “Social Isolation and Its Impact on the Health Status of Older People in the Community: A Narrative Review,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed April 11, 2026, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/11922.