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; ••: ••-••.