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NEW RESEARCH from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing at Trinity College Dublin has shown that loneliness in older adults is associated with an increased risk of individuals wishing for their own death.
The study was published today in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Public Health and it explores the issue of social disconnection and its link to a ‘wish to die’ among older adults.
The ‘Wish to Die’ involves thoughts of or wishes for one’s own death, or that one would be better off dead.
It is a commonly used indicator to capture death ideation and has been shown to be as predictive of future suicide attempts as active suicide ideation.
The study is based on a nationally representative survey among around 8,000 adults aged over 50 in the Republic of Ireland – the mean age of participants was 62.8.
Some 10% of respondents exhibited clinically significant levels of depression.
Participants were also asked: “In the last month, have you felt that you would rather be dead?”
Some 3.6% of respondents answered “yes”.
A significantly higher percentage of participants who completed only primary level education reported a ‘wish to die’ (WTD).
Meanwhile, older adults who reported a WTD also reported higher levels of loneliness and social isolation.
The report’s authors said this demonstrates that the subjective feeling of loneliness is more strongly associated with death ideation than other measures of social disconnection, including social isolation or living alone.
The authors further explained: “Our findings suggest that loneliness – the subjective assessment of the quality of an individuals’ social relationships, as opposed to a count of their social contacts (social isolation) – is the more important of the two.”
Older adults with a WTD were also significantly more likely to live alone and be unmarried, and also reported less social participation – they never volunteered and did not regularly attend religious services.
This latter group, which included older adults with or without a religion who never attended church services, reported the highest prevalence of a WTD at 8.7%.
This is 2.4 times the overall proportion of 3.6%.
Overall, 88.6% of participants were Catholic, with Anglicanism the next largest group at 3.4%.
The report’s authors said it is “not clear whether it is the spiritual or the social aspect of attending church” that provides the protective barrier.
However, they added that the finding of the “strong protective role of religious attendance also suggests a potential coping strategy that may be amenable to older adults” and that secular social activities could confer the same benefit.
“If it is the sociality rather than the spirituality of attending church regularly that is more important, then social activities not only those associated with religious practice may be a more attractive proposition, particularly if the current trend of increasing secularity continues.”
The authors added: “While attendance at religious attendance is provided here as an example of a beneficial prosocial activity, there are of course numerous examples of secular prosocial activities.”
However, the authors also noted that a decrease in religious attendance after the Covid pandemic could result in a “greater number of older adults experiencing a WTD”.
The authors remarked that the pandemic “saw religious attendance severely curtailed for long periods”.
“While we do not have information on WTD among this cohort post-pandemic, it is fair to suspect that the combination of an increase in risk via depression and social disconnection coupled with a decrease in the protective role of religious attendance, may have resulted in a greater number of older adults experiencing a WTD”.
The authors also acknowledged that the prevalence of a WTD among this cohort is possibly an “under-estimation of the true population value” given that “participants experience of a WTD was only asked for the last month and individuals who have had WTD outside this timeframe are therefore excluded”.
It was also noted that the findings “provide important information on a cohort of older adults who have expressed a WTD” in the context of the Dying with Dignity Bill that would legalise assisted dying for those with terminal illnesses.
The authors added that given the strength of the association between loneliness and WTD, existing interventions to address loneliness may have the additional benefit of protecting against death ideation.
Dr Mark Ward, lead author of the paper, said the study adds to a “growing body of evidence” that “clearly shows that loneliness in later life is associated with an increased risk of individuals wishing for their own death”
He added: “Uniquely, we also show that attending religious services regularly can protect against death ideation among older adults in Ireland.”
He also remarked that the findings highlight the importance of promoting social activities and networks to safeguard against loneliness and related psychological distress.
Meanwhile, Dr Robert Briggs, Consultant Geriatrician at St James’s Hospital and co-author of the study, said the study highlights the importance of “maintaining social connectedness in later life”.
Briggs added that an “enhanced focus on improving access to mental health care and addressing social isolation in older people should therefore be a priority for policymakers”.
Elsewhere, Regius Professor Rose Anne Kenny, Consultant Geriatrician and Principal Investigator of TILDA, remarked that “loneliness accelerates biological ageing and disease” and that “addressing this problem is urgent”.
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It’s a wonder why,they’re futures are bleak despite ‘thriving economy’ and all the waffle from the rich and politicians. The cost of living is through the roof and rising again in October with fuel increases and knock on effect once more plus rents are rising due to lack of availability and influx of people increasing demand while government proudly sit on they’re hands staring into oblivion.
@Paddy C: Inflation is a tax created be government to catch up with the debts they’ve accumulated since 2007.
@J Cronin: there is unfortunately a strong possibility of a recession on the horizon. How severe it will be is another thing. Its half government half the population to blame they allowed the housing crisis to escalate which has increased borrowing and spending and for a certain few wages to a degree. But for the majority in wage increases, very little in actual real terms of spending power just increased cost of living so no improvement. The spending by younger generations at present is those stuck at home unable to move out so might aswel spend they’re incomes and enjoy life so that’s made to look as if we’re all swimming in money.
@Paddy C: their, they’re, there..
Need a study for teenagers who wish they were never born.
Alone.ie
Terribly sad. Except to those who are pushing for Euthanasia to be brought in here. To them it’s probably an opportunity and a validation.
@Louise Marie:
Very sad alright but I do think euthanasia should be an option in some cases. I’ve seen people suffer before they pass on and it is hard to watch. As long as the person is in their full senses when they decide to take this road I think I’d agree with it. I mean we allow abortion now, the person being put to death there doesn’t get any say in the matter ! Can I ask what your reasons for disagreeing with euthanasia are ? Just curious.
Why does it take an academic study to highlight the very obvious? Older people, living alone, are self-evidently lonely. They can go for day or weeks without any meaningful contact with other people. Their lives become one never ending struggle. My parents and parents-in-law never had to go through such a harrowing experience. Sadly, many older parents are cast aside by family and overlooked by neighbours.
@Minnie Mouse: I am living alone. So do a good few of my friends. We all have rich and varied social lives. Most of my friends have academic degrees and still take part in research. We also all own our houses, ie mortgage rates don’t concern us personally. I am an OAP now and travel several times in winter to warmer climates, swim every day in my private leisure centre where I meet my friends, do a large garden, have pets, and have lots of hobbies. I never feel lonely.
@Tatjana Kytmannow: Lucky you. Hoping you appreciate how lucky you are.
Religion is nonsense, these people need to grow up
@The Risen: these people can believe in what ever the f#@k they want to. It’s none of your concern
@The Risen: People battling against loneliness and harboring suicidal thoughts don’t need someone to tell them to grow up, why would you say that? The result of the study was that it’s the sense of community and being prosocial that helps combat against loneliness, whether that’s through a religious gathering as a medium to connect to others or secular activity was just that, as a medium. My only gripe is that studies like this have already been carried out with the same results so I’m not sure what Trinity thinks it’s proving here other than underscoring those previous studies.
@The Risen: Troll exhumes someone elses account to make a stupid comment.
Are you lonely ? You spend so much time on here ..
@Michael o Dwyer: why would people believe in sky fairies, it makes absolutely no sense
@offside again: “only lonely on the inside” by hootie and blowfish
@The Risen: Coping mechanism, people still find it useful. It’s interesting how they’ve created this scientific reason for believing that paradise awaits in an article about this new ‘syndrome “WTD” (Google finds white tail Disease) and the argument for assisted dying. hmmm
@Thesaltyurchin: mind boggling and illogical, religion needs to be banished from the lives of everyone, using a spaghetti monster as a coping mechanism is as ridiculous as religion itself
@The Risen: atheism is the most absurd belief of them all ..
@offside again: common sense to not believe in something that doesn’t exist
@The Risen: doesn’t matter what they believe or what you believe if it helps them who cares
@The Risen: ‘… that you don’t believe exists’. There, corrected that for you.
You’re welcome !
@Michael o Dwyer: it bothers me that adults will cling on to something which is a complete fallacy
@The Risen:
It didn’t take long for the angry atheists to appear. Why does it bother you what other people believe ? I bet they aren’t bothered by your belief that no God exists and it is a belief, nothing more. Why are atheists always so angry ?
@The Risen: ill say a prayer for you, you’ll need it!
@Clare Power: praying is an absurd waste of time
@The Risen: I’m an atheist. Let people believe in whatever religion they want if it provides comfort even for a short time providing they aren’t using their religion as an excuse to hurt others.
We are not here for a long time yet we spend an inordinate amount of that time in wasted conflict. Pity!
@The Risen: “praying is an absurd waste of time”
So what, it’s not your time!
@The Risen: yet there you go dogmatically telling people what they should and shouldn’t think, based on your beliefs – tosspot !
@P. V. Aglue: and hello in there by John Prine
@The Risen: I suppose men believing they are women and vice versa is not worse. Because that’s what replacing it.
@The Risen: what an ironic profile name
I know exactly what they mean!
In my experience …your faith has always been with you, even when you turned your back on it in your younger days, its not till later in life you realise that by looking at your life that you were wrong about it… Read the psalm of David 22:31. It’s starts.. my god my god why have thow forsaken me.. it changed my life and renewed my faith. And its a beautiful thing…let me just finnish by saying, I’m not a bible basher, and don’t follow of a religion, but my faith has been restored by this psalm of David, and I pray every day as best I can. It just makes me feel good and I feel that inside my heart .. god bless all that feel they are forgotten. everyone may have left you but christ is there still, and never left you.. and if you look you will find him there…love and peace god bless
Frontiers… “Potential, possible, or probable” predatory open-access publishers.”
My humble opinion is that everything starts in the family. If there’s no connection, no affection, that’s what children learn. The people who don’t visit their elderly today and don’t connect with their own children, are the ones who are going to be lonely and wishing to die when they’re older. It’s a cycle, a snowball. Communities would be much closer if the people belonging to them had learn how to connect with other people. People focus too much on the material side of life and lose focus on what really matters, and then find some institution or people to blame. “It’s the government’s fault, it’s the church’s fault, it’s the migrants fault, etc” Very convenient to find culprits instead of cutting the cycle. It’s really all about love.
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