Understanding Loneliness in an Aging Population of San Vito de Coto Brus, Costa Rica

Introduction: As trends in life expectancy continue to improve, the burden of loneliness in geriatric populations on a global scale is increasing. With advancing age comes an increase in the number of life events that can perpetuate a state of loneliness such as losing a life partner, dwindling social networks, and deteriorating health conditions. This burden can manifest in a variety of mental and physical consequences. While loneliness has been studied in a few communities around the world, there is a need to study loneliness in the context of Latin American communities in Central America, including Costa Rica. The aim of the present study is to assess the prevalence and associated factors of social and emotional loneliness (SEL) in a sample of elderly patients in the canton of Coto Brus, Costa Rica. Methods: A cross‑sectional study was conducted that sampled 63 adults aged 65 years or above in the canton of Coto Brus. Investigators conducted face‑to‑face interviews in Spanish with the aid of translators. The primary instruments used for the present study were a content‑validated version of the 11‑item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale and socio‑demographic questions that included age, sex, address, civil status, and level of education. Results: A high degree of SEL was found, with 60.3% of participants noting at least a moderate degree of loneliness, with the average score being 3.33 on the 11‑point scale. When SEL was broken up into its respective subscores, the average score for social loneliness (SL) was found to be 0.67 on the 5‑point scale, and the average score for emotional loneliness (EL) was found to be 2.67 on the 6‑point scale. There was also evidence that supports both level of education and marital status serving as protective factors in the development of SEL. Discussion: These results could indicate a stronger association of loneliness being linked to missing a life partner compared with loneliness being linked to having smaller social networks. Given the associations that were found in this preliminary study, it is pivotal to explore loneliness in this community with a larger sample size-potentially through the integration of the country's Equipos Básicos de Atención Integral de Salud (EBAIS) healthcare system. It is also crucial to expand the study to explore any associations between loneliness and comorbid mental and physical health conditions.