Being lonely has some correlation to higher use in riskier medications among older adults, according to a new study.
That’s because being lonely can actually cause physical and mental conditions, researchers from University of California San Francisco found.
In fact, lonely older adults are nearly twice as likely to use opioids to ease pain and 2.5 times more likely to use sedatives and anti-anxiety medications, according to the study, which analyzed data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project. Taking these medications can have many risks for older patients, including impaired attention, falls and other accidents, cognitive impairment and drug dependency.
The findings underscore that loneliness should be addressed to improve the health of older adults.
“There’s a misconception that as we age, we become more withdrawn and less sociable,” first author Ashwin Kotwal, MD, of the UCSF Division of Geriatrics and of the San Francisco VA Medical Center, said in a UCSF post. “In fact, older people are more socially active than other age groups and frequently play major roles in their communities. When older people are not socially active, we need to recognize that there’s a problem.”
The proportion of seniors who had prescriptions for opioids and anti-anxiety medications and sedatives, such as Valium, Xanax, BuSpar and Ambien, correlated with loneliness, according to researchers. Of the 6,000 adults in the survey, more than half said they were not lonely, 40% said they were moderately lonely and 7% said they were highly lonely.
Among older adults who use prescription opioids, 11% were in the highly lonely category, 8% were moderately lonely and 6% weren’t lonely. A similar pattern was revealed for anti-anxiety medications, including anti-cholinergic drugs, like Valium, Unisom and tricyclic antidepressants, which may come with a higher risk for dementia. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of adults in the highly lonely category used anti-anxiety medications, compared to 13% for the moderately lonely group and 9% in the non-lonely group.
The researchers noted that de-scribing medications for distressed patients can be very challenging. Doctors should also use caution when prescribing medications that shouldn’t be used for the long term.
The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."