Researchers at the University of Michigan in the United States have conducted a study in which they conclude that older people with digestive diseases are more likely to suffer from loneliness and depression.
“We found that out People with a digestive disorder were more likely to report “poor or fair” health than those without.. And among patients with a digestive disorder, loneliness and moderate to severe depression were associated with a higher likelihood of self-reporting “poor or fair” health, said gastroenterologist Shirley Ann Cohen of Mekelburg-based Michigan Medicine, who was involved in this study in “Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.”
With that in mind, Cohen-Mekelburg said health care providers have placed more emphasis in recent years on understanding why so many Americans develop digestive diseases. However, he has found that current approaches often do not take into account how psychosocial factors contribute to these diseases. “As physicians, it is important that we pay attention to the psychosocial factors that play a role in our patients’ lives but are often overlooked,” he said.
More than 55%
“These factors have the potential to significantly influence gastrointestinal health and also play a crucial role in the general well-being of our patients,” emphasized the researcher. This idea inspired Cohen-Mekelburg and a team of other gastroenterologists and hepatologists to study the prevalence of loneliness, depression and social isolation in older adults with and without digestive diseases.
The study analyzed data from 2008 to 2016 from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal study with a representative sample of about 20,000 people in the United States who are 50 years old or older and their spouses. “Generally, 60.4 percent and 55.6 percent of respondents with and without digestive diseases, respectively, said they felt lonely. 12.7 percent and 7.5 percent reported severe depression and 8.9 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, reported social isolation,” Cohen-Mekelburg said.
