Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between loneliness and work disability and whether depression mediates the hypothesized relationship. Method: We draw on data from the 2013 and 2015 waves of the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe. We limited the sample to adults between the ages of 50 and 65 who were working and without work limitations in 2013, which consisted of 10,154 adults from 14 countries. We apply multivariate logistic regression and a binary mediation analysis with logistic regression to examine predictors of the onset of work disability in 2015. Results: Loneliness was predictive of future work disability onset when adjusting for other factors in the disablement process. Depression partly mediated the longitudinal relationship between loneliness and work disability. Discussion: The results indicate that addressing loneliness could mitigate the risk of depression and, in turn, work disability onset.
AdamsK. B.SandersS.AuthE. A. (2004). Loneliness and depression in independent living retirement communities: Risk and resilience factors. Aging and Mental Health, 8, 475-485.
2.
BargF. K.Huss-AshmoreR.WittinkM. N.MurrayG. F.BognerH. R.GalloJ. J. (2006). A mixed-methods approach to understanding loneliness and depression in older adults. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 61, S329-S339.
3.
BarronR. M.KennyD. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
4.
BjörkenstamE.HjernA.BjörkenstamC.KosidouK. (2018). Association of cumulative childhood adversity and adolescent violent offending with suicide in early adulthood. JAMA Psychiatry, 75, 185-193.
5.
Börsch-SupanA. (2018a). Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) Wave 5 (Release version: 6.1.1) [Data set]. SHARE-ERIC. doi:10.6103/SHARE.w5.611
6.
Börsch-SupanA. (2018b). Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) Wave 6 (Release version: 6.1.0) [Data set]. SHARE-ERIC. doi:10.6103/SHARE.w6.610
7.
Börsch-SupanA.Bucher-KoenenT.HanemannF. (2017, July). Early determinants of work disability in an international perspective (MEA discussion paper series 201705). Munich, Germany: Munich Center for the Economics of Aging at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
8.
Börsch-SupanA.JurgesH.MackenbachJ.SiegristJ.WeberG. (2005). Health, ageing and retirement in Europe. First results from the survey of health, ageing and retirement in Europe. Manheim, DE: Mannheim Research Institute for the Economic of Ageing.
9.
BreslowL.BreslowN. (1993). Health practices and disability: Some evidence from Alameda County. Preventive Medicine, 22, 86-95.
10.
BurholtV.WindleG.MorganD. J. (2016). A social model of loneliness: The roles of disability, social resources, and cognitive impairment. The Gerontologist, 57, 1020-1030. doi:10.1093/geront/gnw125
CacioppoJ. T.HawkleyL. C.ThistedR. A. (2010). Perceived social isolation makes me sad: 5-year cross-lagged analyses of loneliness and depressive symptomatology in the Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study. Psychology and Aging, 25, 453-463.
13.
CacioppoJ. T.HughesM. E.WaiteL. J.HawkleyL. C.ThistedR. A. (2006). Loneliness as a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Psychology and Aging, 21, 140-151.
14.
ChoiN. G. (2003). Determinants of stability and changes in self-reported work disability among older working-age populations. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 15, 11-31.
15.
CiezaA.ChatterjiS.AndersenC.CantistaP.HercegM.MelvinJ.. . . de BieR. (2004). ICF Core Sets for depression. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 36, 128-134.
16.
ColeD. A.MaxwellS. E. (2003). Testing mediational models with longitudinal data: Questions and tips in the use of structural equation modeling. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 558-577.
17.
DyalS. R.ValenteT. W. (2015). A systematic review of loneliness and smoking: Small effects, big implications. Substance Use & Misuse, 50, 1697-1716.
18.
EdgeC. E.CooperA. M.CoffeyM. (2017). Barriers and facilitators to extended working lives in Europe: A gender focus. Public Health Reviews, 38(1), Article 2.
19.
GardnerW. L.GabrielS.DiekmanA. B. (2000). Interpersonal processes. In CacioppoJ. T.TassinaryL. G.BerntsonG. G. (Eds.), Handbook of psychophysiology (pp. 643-664). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
20.
GollJ. C.CdyharlesworthG.SciorK.StottJ. (2015). Barriers to social participation among lonely older adults: The influence of social fears and identity. PLOS ONE, 10(2), e0116664. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116664
21.
GustafssonK.AronssonG.MarklundS.WikmanA.FloderusB. (2013). Does social isolation and low societal participation predict disability pension? A population based study. PLOS ONE, 8(11), e80655.
22.
HairJ. F.Jr.AndersonR. E.TathamR. L.BlackW. C. (1995). Multivariate data analysis (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Macmillan.
23.
HawkleyL. C.CacioppoJ. T. (2010). Loneliness matters: A theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 40, 218-227. doi:10.1007/s12160-010-9210-8
24.
HawkleyL. C.DuvoisinR.AckvaJ.MurdochJ. C.LuhmannM. (2015). Loneliness in older adults in the USA and Germany: Measurement invariance and validation (NORC Working Paper Series 2015-February). Chicago, IL: NORC at the University of Chicago.
25.
HawkleyL. C.HughesM. E.WaiteL. J.MasiC. M.ThistedR. A.CacioppoJ. T. (2008). From social structural factors to perceptions of relationship quality and loneliness: The Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 63, 375-384.
26.
HawkleyL. C.ThistedR. A.CacioppoJ. T. (2009). Loneliness predicts reduced physical activity: Cross-sectional & longitudinal analyses. Health Psychology, 28, 354-363.
27.
HeissF.Börsch-SupanA.HurdM.WiseD. A. (2009). Pathways to disability: Predicting health trajectories. In CutlerD.WiseD. (Eds.), Health at older ages: The causes and consequences of declining disability among the elderly (pp. 105-150). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
28.
HughesM. E.WaiteL. J.HawkleyL. C.CacioppoJ. T. (2004). A short scale for measuring loneliness in large surveys: Results from two population-based studies. Research on Aging, 26, 655-672.
29.
HydeJ. S.StapletonD. (2017). Using the health and retirement study for disability policy research: A review. Forum for Health Economics and Policy, 20(2). doi:10.1515/fhep-2017-0002
30.
IlmarinenJ. (2012). Promoting active ageing in the workplace. Bilbao, Spain: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.
31.
KapteynA.SmithJ. P.Van SoestA. (2007). Vignettes and self-reports of work disability in the United States and the Netherlands. American Economic Review, 97, 461-473.
32.
KlineR. B. (1998). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
33.
LundR.NilssonC. J.AvlundK. (2010). Can the higher risk of disability onset among older people who live alone be alleviated by strong social relations? A longitudinal study of non-disabled men and women. Age and Ageing, 39, 319-326.
34.
MalterFBörsch-SupanA. (Eds.). (2015). SHARE wave 5: Innovations & methodology. Munich, Germany: MEA, Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
35.
MalterF.Börsch-SupanA. (Eds.). (2017). SHARE Wave 6: Panel innovations and collecting Dried Blood Spots. Munich, Germany: Munich Center for the Economics of Aging.
36.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2006). Live longer, work longer: A synthesis report. Paris, France: Author.
37.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2010). Sickness, disability, and work: Breaking the barriers. Paris, France: Author.
38.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2015). Mental health and work fit mind, fit job: From evidence to practice in mental health and work. Paris, France: Author.
39.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2018). Public spending on incapacity (indicator). doi:10.1787/f35b71ed-en
40.
OngA. D.UchinoB. N.WethingtonE. (2016). Loneliness and health in older adults: A mini-review and synthesis. Gerontology, 62, 443-449.
41.
ParadiesY. C.CunninghamJ. (2012). The DRUID study: Exploring mediating pathways between racism and depressive symptoms among Indigenous Australians. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47, 165-173.
42.
PerlmanD.PeplauL. A. (1981). Toward a social psychology of loneliness. Personal Relationships, 3, 31-56.
43.
PorruF.BurdorfA.RobroekS. J. (2018). The impact of depressive symptoms on exit from paid employment in Europe: A longitudinal study with 4 years follow-up. European Journal of Public Health, 29, 134-139.
44.
PrinceM. J.ReischiesF.BeekmanA. T.FuhrerR.JonkerC.KivelaS. L.. . . OyenH. (1999). Development of the EURO–D scale—A European Union initiative to compare symptoms of depression in 14 European centres. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 174, 330-338.
45.
RodeJ. C.Arthaud-DayM.RamaswamiA.HowesS. (2017). A time-lagged study of emotional intelligence and salary. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 101, 77-89.
46.
RussellD. W.PeplauL. A.CutronaC. E. (1980). The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472-480.
47.
SchaferJ. L.GrahamJ. W. (2002). Missing data: Our view of the state of the art. Psychological Methods, 7, 147-177.
48.
SchimmelJ.StapletonD. (2012). The financial repercussions of new work-limiting health conditions for older workers. Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 49, 141-163.
49.
SewdasR.de WindA.van der ZwaanL. G.van der BorgW. E.SteenbeekR.van der BeekA. J.. . . BootC. R. (2017). Why older workers work beyond the retirement age: A qualitative study. BMC Public Health, 17(1), Article 672.
50.
SonnetA.OlsenH.ManfrediT. (2014). Towards more inclusive ageing and employment policies: The lessons from France, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. De Economist, 162, 315-339.
51.
StuckA. E.WalthertJ. M.NikolausT.BülaC. J.HohmannC.BeckJ. C. (1999). Risk factors for functional status decline in community-living elderly people: A systematic literature review. Social Science & Medicine, 48, 445-469.
52.
TheisK. A.RoblinD. W.HelmickC. G.LuoR. (2018). Prevalence and causes of work disability among working-age U.S. adults, 2011-2013, NHIS. Disability and Health Journal, 11, 108-115.
VerbruggeL. M.JetteA. M. (1994). The disablement process. Social Science & Medicine, 38, 1-14.
55.
WeissR. S. (1973). Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
56.
WilsonR. S.KruegerK. R.ArnoldS. E.SchneiderJ. A.KellyJ. F.BarnesL. L.. . . BennettD. A. (2007). Loneliness and risk of Alzheimer disease. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 234-240.
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
