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Latest Senior Health News<\/h3>\n
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MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
The constraints of the coronavirus pandemic have many more older adults feeling lonely this summer than in years past.<\/p>\n
According to a new poll, many older adults are feeling isolated while they protect themselves from the virus.<\/p>\n
In June, the National Poll on Healthy Aging<\/a> surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. adults ages 50 to 80.<\/p>\n More than half said they sometimes or often felt isolated from others, which is more than double the 27% who reported the same feeling in a 2018 poll.<\/p>\n And the share of older adults who said they infrequently interacted with friends, neighbors or family outside their household also grew from the prior poll.<\/p>\n Nearly half of those polled in June of this year said they only interacted with these groups once a week or less, compared with the 28% who said this in 2018.<\/p>\n And while technology such as video chat and social media can be a great way to connect during the pandemic, those who used these tools were more likely to say they felt isolated.<\/p>\n A majority of the sample reported that they maintained a healthy lifestyle, with eight out of 10 saying that they were getting enough sleep<\/a> and eating a healthy diet<\/a>. But those experiencing loneliness were less likely to report engaging in healthy behaviors such as getting outside and exercising.<\/p>\n Similarly, those who said they lacked companionship were more likely to report that their mental and physical health was fair or poor.<\/p>\n These results could point to an intersection between loneliness and health, which is an area that “needs much study,” John Piette said in a University of Michigan news release. He’s a professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health who worked with the poll team.<\/p>\n “Past studies have shown that prolonged isolation has a profound negative effect on health and well-being as much as smoking<\/a> 15 cigarettes a day,” added Alison Bryant, senior vice president of research for AARP, which helped support the poll.<\/p>\n “All of us can take time to reach out to older neighbors, friends and relatives in safe ways as they try to avoid the coronavirus,” Piette added.<\/p>\n — Serena McNiff<\/p>\n![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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