Reversed loneliness development after age 65 for men and women: Modeling of the age trajectories of loneliness using national cohorts in Taiwan and Japan

Abstract

Aim

This study depicts the age trajectories of loneliness and gender differences among older adults in Taiwan and Japan.

Methods

Two nationally representative data sets for older adults in Taiwan and Japan were obtained from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA, 1996–2011) and the National Survey of the Japanese Elderly (NSJE, 1996–2012), respectively. The analytic sample included 3037 and 1974 older adults aged 65 and over at baseline in Taiwan and Japan, respectively.

Results

The prevalence rate of loneliness for adults aged 65+ living in the community was 23.64% in Taiwan and 17.03% in Japan. Higher average levels (β_Taiwan = 0.1508, P < 0.001) and rates of increment (β_Taiwan*age = 0.0068, P < 0.05) in loneliness development were found in Taiwan as compared with Japan. In addition, although women reported higher levels of loneliness compared with men at age 65 (29.0% vs. 19.4% in Taiwan, and 19.3% vs. 13.9% in Japan), a soaring development of loneliness with accelerated rates of increment after age 65 was observed in men in both countries.

Conclusions

Lonliness in old age is very different between men and women. Women's loneliness curve shows an inverted U state: Although they feel more lonely than men during midlife, it has a downward trend as they get older. On the contrary, men's loneliness curve shows an upward U-shaped curve: After retirement, both Japanese and Taiwanese men continue to rise. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2025; 25: 620–627.