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ISOLATION
Book chapter

ISOLATION

James Lubben and Mercedes E. Bern-Klug
Handbook of Rural Aging, pp.247-251
Routledge Handbooks, Routledge
03/2021
DOI: 10.4324/9781003128267-45

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Abstract

Social isolation is a serious health issue for people of all ages, but it appears to be especially devastating for older adults. The AARP Foundation has suggested that social isolation is a growing epidemic in America affecting over eight million older adults (AARP Foundation, 2016). Holt-Lunstad and colleagues advise that social isolation creates as much of a health risk as if one smoked 15 cigarettes a day (Holt-Lunstad, Smith, Baker, Haris, & Stephenson, 2015). Socially isolated individuals incur increased risk of an array of problems including abuse, cognitive impairment, depression, disability, extended hospital stays, falls, malnutrition and mortality (Lubben et al., 2018). Accordingly, Lubben (2017) argues that it is time for society to address social isolation as a potent killer!

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