Research from Amsterdam UMC and the University of Glasgow has found that loneliness significantly affects older adults’ physical health, leading to increased frailty and health risks. The findings highlight the critical need for interventions that enhance social connections among older adults to mitigate these adverse health outcomes.
Led by Peter Hanlon, clinical research fellow at the University of Glasgow, along with researchers from Amsterdam UMC, Canada, Australia, and Sweden, researchers analyzed the relationship between social functioning and physical frailty in older adults. “Frailty refers to a lot of different forms of physical deterioration, such as weight loss, reduced walking speed, and decrease in muscle strength. These can all then have an effect on, for example, how likely you are to fall,” says Hanlon.
Impaired social and physical functioning often occur at the same time. “Older people who are physically vulnerable often also have to deal with a decline in both social and mental functioning. As we are caring for older adults, we need to pay attention to all of these aspects,” says Hanlon. He concludes: “Loneliness, for example, is not an easy problem to solve.
Technology Technology Latest News, Technology Technology Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: NYAmNews - 🏆 269. / 63 Read more »