Although many seniors want to maintain their independence, those who suffer some form of physical or mental impairment are better off living with their families or other care-givers.
I. Many older adults prefer living alone because they value their sense of freedom and/or because they do not want to place any burden on their families, but according to research, if these seniors are suffering any illness, their conditions may get worse and they can suffer from other health issues as well. This topic will include research of elderly people who are living alone deal with in terms of impairment, and how these solitary lifestyles contribute to these conditions.
II. In a geriatric study done in Baltimore in January of 2014, researcher Betty Black …show more content…
The next study done by Andrew Steptoe and Apana Shankar by the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health in University College London, which was later edited by Kenneth Wachter of University of California in 2013, proposed that loneliness and isolation increases mortality in older adults and their research emphasizes that seniors are vulnerable to social isolation. First, the researchers stress that people need relationships because they are essential to health maintenance. “Social relationships are central to a person’s well-being and are critically involved in the maintenance of health (1,2). Social isolation is an objective and quantifiable reflection of reduced social network size and paucity of social contact. It is a particular issue that with seniors, decreasing economic resources, mobility impairment, and the death of contemporaries conspire to limit social contacts.” (Steptoe, Andrew; Shankar, Apana, and Wachter Kenneth, PNAS, Vol. 110, no. 15, 04/09/2013). The researchers also discussed what the health risks are when these individuals become isolated, “socially isolated individuals are at increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease (3), infectious illnesses (4), cognitive deterioration (5), and mortality (6-9).” (Steptoe, Andrew; Shankar, Apana, and Wachter Kenneth, PNAS, Vol. 110, no. 15, …show more content…
“We found that 918 (14.1%) of the 6,500 participants in ELSA had died by the census date, with a higher rate among men than women (16.3 vs 12.3%, P <0.001). Both social isolation and loneliness were associated with all-cause mortality; the absolute proportions of deaths were 21.9 vs 12.3% in the high and low/average loneliness groups, respectively.” (Steptoe, Andrew; Shankar, Apana, and Wachter Kenneth, PNAS, Vol. 110, no. 15, 04/09/2013).
V. In conclusion, these three studies indicate that seniors that prefer to live alone will suffer greater physical and mental impairment and may die earlier as a cause of stress brought by loneliness. In 2009, HBO launched Memory Loss Tapes, by the Alzheimer’s project, further explaining the dangers of an older person living alone with Alzheimer’s disease. The clips show one patient in Birchwood rejecting medicine and feels that the disease is not a big problem for her because it “did not take away her intelligence.” She is shown at her doctor’s office but cannot remember his name and cannot recall the word list given to her. Another patient prefers to live by herself and likes to drive. She feels that she does not want to burden her daughter and enjoys doing things for herself. Her daughter and doctor assert that Alzheimer’s disease has impacted her decision-making. In the clip, she is shown having difficulty performing a driving test. After being
I. Many older adults prefer living alone because they value their sense of freedom and/or because they do not want to place any burden on their families, but according to research, if these seniors are suffering any illness, their conditions may get worse and they can suffer from other health issues as well. This topic will include research of elderly people who are living alone deal with in terms of impairment, and how these solitary lifestyles contribute to these conditions.
II. In a geriatric study done in Baltimore in January of 2014, researcher Betty Black …show more content…
The next study done by Andrew Steptoe and Apana Shankar by the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health in University College London, which was later edited by Kenneth Wachter of University of California in 2013, proposed that loneliness and isolation increases mortality in older adults and their research emphasizes that seniors are vulnerable to social isolation. First, the researchers stress that people need relationships because they are essential to health maintenance. “Social relationships are central to a person’s well-being and are critically involved in the maintenance of health (1,2). Social isolation is an objective and quantifiable reflection of reduced social network size and paucity of social contact. It is a particular issue that with seniors, decreasing economic resources, mobility impairment, and the death of contemporaries conspire to limit social contacts.” (Steptoe, Andrew; Shankar, Apana, and Wachter Kenneth, PNAS, Vol. 110, no. 15, 04/09/2013). The researchers also discussed what the health risks are when these individuals become isolated, “socially isolated individuals are at increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease (3), infectious illnesses (4), cognitive deterioration (5), and mortality (6-9).” (Steptoe, Andrew; Shankar, Apana, and Wachter Kenneth, PNAS, Vol. 110, no. 15, …show more content…
“We found that 918 (14.1%) of the 6,500 participants in ELSA had died by the census date, with a higher rate among men than women (16.3 vs 12.3%, P <0.001). Both social isolation and loneliness were associated with all-cause mortality; the absolute proportions of deaths were 21.9 vs 12.3% in the high and low/average loneliness groups, respectively.” (Steptoe, Andrew; Shankar, Apana, and Wachter Kenneth, PNAS, Vol. 110, no. 15, 04/09/2013).
V. In conclusion, these three studies indicate that seniors that prefer to live alone will suffer greater physical and mental impairment and may die earlier as a cause of stress brought by loneliness. In 2009, HBO launched Memory Loss Tapes, by the Alzheimer’s project, further explaining the dangers of an older person living alone with Alzheimer’s disease. The clips show one patient in Birchwood rejecting medicine and feels that the disease is not a big problem for her because it “did not take away her intelligence.” She is shown at her doctor’s office but cannot remember his name and cannot recall the word list given to her. Another patient prefers to live by herself and likes to drive. She feels that she does not want to burden her daughter and enjoys doing things for herself. Her daughter and doctor assert that Alzheimer’s disease has impacted her decision-making. In the clip, she is shown having difficulty performing a driving test. After being