Table 1 Characteristics, functional status, and disease diagnoses of SL residents in Alberta Canada between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2018 by loneliness and social isolation
| Â | Total, n, % (95% CI) | Lonely, n, % (95% CI) | Socially isolated, n, % (95% CI) | Neither lonely or socially isolated, n, % (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 18,191 | 3238 17.8 (17.2–18.4) | 713 3.9 (3.6–4.2) | 14,240 78.3 (77.7–78.9) |
SL Type | ||||
 SL3 | 2795 15.4 (14.8–15.9) | 576 20.6 (19.1–22.1) | 210 7.5 (6.5–8.5) | 2009 71.9 (70.2–73.6) |
 SL4 | 10,693 58.8 (58.1–59.5) | 1992 18.6 (17.9–19.4) | 386 3.6 (3.3–4.0) | 8315 77.8 (77.0–78.6) |
 SL4 Dementia | 4703 25.9 (25.2–26.5) | 670 14.3 (13.3–15.3) | 117 2.5 (2.0–2.9) | 3916 83.3 (82.2–84.3) |
Female, | 11,961 65.8 (65.1–66.4) | 2210 68.3 (66.7–69.9) | 250 35.1 (31.6–38.6) | 9501 66.7 (66.0–67.5) |
Age (years), Mean (SD) | 80.6 (12.8) | 81.2 (12.5) | 64.0 (14.4) | 81.4 (12.1) |
Cognitive Performance Scale | ||||
 No impairment (0) | 2318 12.7 (12.3–13.2) | 333 10.3 (9.2–11.3) | 126 17.7 (14.9–20.5) | 1859 13.1 (12.5–13.6) |
 Mild impairment (1–2) | 10,442 57.4 (56.7–58.1) | 2017 62.3 (60.6–64.0) | 442 62.0 (58.4–65.6) | 7983 56.1 (55.3–56.9) |
 Moderate impairment (3–4) | 4313 23.7 (23.1–24.3) | 756 23.4 (21.9–24.8) | 126 17.7 (14.9–20.5) | 3431 24.1 (23.4–24.8) |
 Severe impairment (5–6) | 1118 6.2 (5.8–6.5) | 132 4.1 (3.4–4.8) | 19 2.7 (1.5–3.9) | 967 6.8 (6.4–7.2) |
Depression Rating Scale | ||||
3+ | 3961 21.8 (21.2–22.4) | 1346 41.6 (39.9–43.3) | 163 22.9 (19.8–25.9) | 2452 17.2 (16.6–17.8) |
ADL Self Performance Hierarchy Scale | ||||
 Independent (0) | 5903 32.5 (31.8–33.1) | 1064 32.9 (31.2–34.5) | 336 47.1 (43.5–50.8) | 4503 31.6 (30.9–32.4) |
 Supervision/limited dependence (1–2) | 7984 43.9 (43.2–44.6) | 1412 43.6 (41.9–45.3) | 311 43.6 (40.0–47.3) | 6261 44.0 (43.2–44.8) |
 Extensive/maximal dependence (3–4) | 3620 19.9 (19.3–20.5) | 613 18.9 (17.6–20.3) | 61 8.6 (6.5–10.6) | 2946 20.7 (20.0–21.4) |
 Dependent/total dependence (5–6) | 684 3.8 (3.5–4.0) | 149 4.6 (3.9–5.3) | 5 0.7 (0.1–1.3) | 530 3.7 (3.4–4.0) |
IADL Difficulty Scale | ||||
 Independent (0) | 166 0.9 (0.8–1.1) | 26 0.8 (0.5–1.1) | 19 2.7 (1.5–3.9) | 121 0.9 (0.7–1.0) |
 Set up/supervision (1–2) | 1606 8.8 (8.4–9.2) | 269 8.3 (7.4–9.3) | 127 17.8 (15.0–20.6) | 1210 8.5 (8.0–9.0) |
 Limited/extensive assistance (3–4) | 2253 12.4 (11.9–12.9) | 426 13.2 (12.0–14.3) | 138 19.4 (16.5–22.3) | 1689 11.9 (11.3–12.4) |
 Maximal/total dependence (5–6) | 14,166 77.9 (77.3–78.5) | 2517 77.7 (76.3–79.2) | 429 60.2 (56.6–63.8) | 11,220 78.8(78.1–79.5) |
Disease Diagnoses | ||||
 Alzheimer’s | 2634 14.5 (14.0–15.0) | 416 12.9 (11.7–14.0) | 40 5.6 (3.9–7.3) | 2178 15.3 (14.7–15.9) |
 Any psychiatric diagnosis | 6500 35.7 (35.0–36.4) | 1324 40.9 (39.2–42.6) | 492 69.0 (65.6–72.4) | 4684 32.9 (32.1–33.7) |
 Congestive heart failure | 2412 13.3 (12.8–13.8) | 479 14.8 (13.6–16.0) | 44 6.2 (4.4–7.9) | 1889 13.3 (12.7–13.8) |
 Coronary artery disease | 3675 20.2 (19.6–20.8) | 683 21.1 (19.7–22.5) | 74 10.4 (8.1–12.6) | 2918 20.5 (19.8–21.2) |
 Dementia other than Alzheimer’s | 8172 44.9 (44.2–45.7) | 1470 45.4 (43.7–47.1) | 182 25.5 (22.3–28.7) | 6520 45.8 (45.0–46.6) |
 Diabetes | 4139 22.8 (22.1–23.4) | 763 23.6 (22.1–25.0) | 174 24.4 (21.3–27.6) | 3202 22.5 (21.8–23.2) |
 Emphysema/COPD | 3793 20.9 (20.3–21.4) | 752 23.2 (21.8–24.7) | 169 23.7 (20.6–26.8) | 2872 20.2 (19.5–20.8) |
 Parkinsonism | 851 4.7 (4.4–5.0) | 177 5.5 (4.7–6.3) | 12 1.7 (0.7–2.6) | 662 4.7 (4.3–5.0) |
 Renal failure | 1524 8.4 (8.0–8.8) | 280 8.7 (7.7–9.6) | 35 4.9 (3.3–6.5) | 1209 8.5 (8.0–9.0) |
 Stroke | 3058 16.8 (16.3–17.4) | 580 17.9 (16.6–19.2) | 85 11.9 (9.5–14.3) | 2393 16.8 (16.2–17.4) |
Number of conditions | ||||
 1 | 127 0.7 (0.6–0.8) | 14 0.4 (02–0.7) | 5 0.7 (0.1–1.3) | 108 0.8 (0.6–0.9) |
 2 | 1140 6.3 (5.9–6.6) | 126 3.9 (3.2–4.6) | 139 19.6 (16.6–22.5) | 875 6.2 (5.8–6.6) |
 3 | 660 3.6 (3.4–3.9) | 115 3.6 (2.9–4.2) | 40 5.6 (3.9–7.3) | 505 3.6 (3.3–3.9) |
 4 | 2049 11.3 (10.8–11.8) | 300 9.3 (8.3–10.3) | 120 16.9 (14.1–19.6) | 1629 11.5 (11.0–12.0) |
 5+ | 14,086 77.7 (77.1–78.3) | 2665 82.6 (81.3–83.9) | 396 55.7 (52.0–59.4) | 11,025 77.7 (77.0–78.4) |
Number of unique medications (Mean, SD) | 14.1 (7.2) | 15.2 (7.5) | 12.7 (7.2) | 13.9 (7.1) |
Health instability (CHESS score) | ||||
 No health instability (0) | 10,496 57.7 (57.0–58.4) | 1588 49.0 (47.3–50.8) | 544 76.3 (73.2–79.4) | 8364 58.7 (57.9–59.5) |
 Minimal/low health instability (1–2) | 6969 38.3 (37.6–39.0) | 1455 44.9 (43.2–46.7) | 160 22.4 (19.4–25.5) | 5354 37.6 (36.8–38.4) |
 Moderate/high health instability (3+) | 726 4.0 (3.7–4.3) | 195 6.0 (5.2–6.8) | 9 1.3 (0.4–2.1) | 522 3.7 (3.4–4.0) |
Number of falls in past 30 days (mean, SD) | 0.6 (1.4) | 0.8 (1.6) | 0.3 (1.1) | 0.6 (1.4) |
Social Functioning | ||||
 Not at ease interacting with others | 1803 9.9 (9.5–10.4) | 404 12.5 (11.3–13.6) | 145 20.3 (17.4–23.3) | 1254 8.8 (8.3–9.3) |
 Openly expresses conflict or anger with family/friends | 4298 23.6 (23.0–24.2) | 1007 31.1 (29.5–32.7) | 184 25.8 (22.6–29.0) | 3107 21.8 (21.1–22.5) |
Caregiver distress (for those who have a caregiver) | 678 3.9 (3.6–4.2) | 223 7.0 (6.1–7.9) | 0 (0.0)* | 455 3.2 (2.9–3.5) |