Loneliness as a determinant of health: evidence from the Health Survey of Catalonia.

Abstract

Objective: This study investigates the health effects of loneliness among adults (18+ years) and elderly adults (60+ years).

Method: Using data from the Health Survey of Catalonia (ESCA), 2013-2019, the effects of loneliness on health and healthcare utilization outcomes are estimated. Ordinary least squares estimates are provided to explore the channels affecting such relationships.

Results: Loneliness is significantly associated to worse health outcomes in all age groups. Among adults, it reduces self-perceived health by 7.1%, increases multi-morbidities by 22.1%, and raises the probability of depression and anxiety by 65.8%. Consequently, a positive and strong association between suffering from loneliness and the use of healthcare resources is documented: with a 7.4% rise in medication use, 20.9% more emergency care visits, and 6.1% higher primary care use. Results for the elderly are aligned with adults, although the magnitude associated to self-perceived health is substantially greater (13.2%). Channels exploration identifies living alone (with a 97.3% increase) and poor household habitability (33.5% increase) as key predictors in all the analysis. Being foreign (60.3% increase in the adult population and 106% in the elderly population) and gender (women, 26.8% for the adult population and 27.5% in the elderly population) become relevant factors explaining loneliness.

Conclusions: This study documents the impact of loneliness in Catalonia. Loneliness is associated to significant worse health and more use of healthcare. Tackling individuals with higher risk factors for loneliness could help preventing its concerning consequences on health and healthcare system.