New report highlighting impact of social isolation on aging Canadian population

A new report is highlighting the risk of social isolation and the impact loneliness has on the aging population in Canada.

The study finds that as many as 41 per cent of Canadians aged 50 years and older are at risk of social isolation and up to 58 per cent have experienced loneliness before.

One of the authors of the report, Dr. Samir Sinha, said these findings were concerning as loneliness itself has been considered the equivalent of smoking upwards of 15 cigarettes a day.

“So when you start realizing that it’s so prevalent amongst the majority of older Canadians and that there are significant health consequences that can occur as a result, it is an opportunity to kind of raise awareness of how common this actually is, break down the stigma so that we can better address it as well,” said Dr. Sinha.

Multiple factors lead to this isolation, Dr. Sinha explained including such as a major life change, or outliving friends and family members.

“We also know that as we get older, we might more encounter more health conditions, things that might limit our mobility or our function and our ability to get out there and interact with other people,” said Dr. Sinha. “You may be working full time to retiring, for example, that can be a major change to how we relate with others and the world around us.”

Dr. Sinha said the obvious outcome of loneliness is the mental health aspect, including depression and anxiety, but as the cigarette example shows it can also harm your physical health.

“We know that this can actually create physical stress on our bodies as well. So, this can actually increase the risk of other chronic conditions, heart disease and other aspects.”

Maria Mikelenas-McLoughlin knows firsthand the impact loneliness can have on a person. She has lived alone for the last 12 years after the 81-year-old’s husband passed away in 2011.

Since then, the emptiness in her home has weighed heavily on her as she doesn’t have any family members nearby either.

“I think the thing that’s difficult is the lack of companionship,” said Mikelenas-McLoughlin. “I won’t deny that I haven’t had moments and I think to myself … Thanksgiving, I couldn’t share it with anyone.”

The report also found that women were more likely than men to feel loneliness and older adults without children tended to be more socially isolated than those with children.

One interesting finding from the report was that the older the individuals, the less likely they were to experience feelings of loneliness.

“People will take more action once they’ve experienced this once so that they can actually experience it less as they grow older,” Mikelenas-McLoughlin added.

“This is where we might find that people become more motivated to actually build their social networks and make sure that they’re not in a situation where they’re experiencing loneliness again,” added Dr. Sinha.

He said there are steps the province is taking under their senior strategy to help combat this, including opening up over 300 seniors’ centres in Ontario.

“These are centres where older people can gather socially with other people and their mechanism for people to help build new social connections as a way to strengthen their networks.”

Other ways to help people stay connected are to improve public transit and make sure they are aware of social programs and services that allow them to stay more engaged.

Mikelenas-McLoughlin said she does get weekly check-in calls, but added that’s not enough.

“There are senior groups and what we call community hubs so various wards will have community hubs. Here in Etobicoke Centre, we’re the only ward that doesn’t have a community hub.”

The report calls on the federal government to put together a national strategy on how to tackle loneliness and includes several recommendations to build towards this strategy. You can read the full report here.