The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Health risk appraisal in older people 2: the implications for clinicians and commissioners of social isolation risk in older people.
Social isolation is associated with poorer health, and is seen by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the major issues facing the industrialised world. ⋯ The risk of social isolation is elevated in older men, older persons who live alone, persons with mood or cognitive problems, but is not associated with greater use of services. These findings would not support population screening for individuals at risk of social isolation with a view to averting service use by timely intervention. Awareness of social isolation should trigger further assessment, and consideration of interventions to alleviate social isolation, treat depression or ameliorate cognitive impairment.
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To systematically review the evidence on the influence of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and (bio)medical variables on the course of prevalent disability and transition rates to different outcome categories in community-dwelling older people. ⋯ Prognostic factors, partly modifiable, are identified that should be taken into account in targeting treatment and care for older people with disabilities. Further conceptual and methodological standardisation is required in order to enable a meta-analysis and obtain higher levels of evidence.