TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - Does loneliness have a cost? A population-wide study of the association between loneliness and healthcare expenditure
JO  - International journal of public health
A1  - Meisters, Rachelle
A1  - Westra, Daan
A1  - Putrik, Polina
A1  - Bosma, Hans
A1  - Ruwaard, Dirk
A1  - Jansen, Maria
SP  - 581286
EP  - 581286
VL  - 66
IS  - 
N2  - OBJECTIVES: Loneliness has been associated with unhealthy behavior, poorer health, and increased morbidity. However, the costs of loneliness are poorly understood. <br><br>METHODS: Multiple sources were combined into a dataset containing a nationally representative sample (n = 341,376) of Dutch adults (18+). The association between loneliness and total, general practitioner (GP), specialized, pharmaceutical, and mental healthcare expenditure was tested using Poisson and Zero-inflated negative binomial models, controlling for numerous potential confounders (i.e., demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle-related factors, self-perceived health, and psychological distress), for four age groups. <br><br>RESULTS: Controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle-related factors, loneliness was indirectly (via poorer health) associated with higher expenditure in all categories. In fully adjusted models, it showed a direct association with higher expenditure for GP and mental healthcare (0.5 and 11.1%, respectively). The association with mental healthcare expenditure was stronger in younger than in older adults (for ages 19-40, the contribution of loneliness represented 61.8% of the overall association). <br><br>CONCLUSION: Loneliness contributes to health expenditure both directly and indirectly, particularly in younger age groups. This implies a strong financial imperative to address this issue.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1661-8556
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2021.581286
ID  - ref1
ER  -