Objective:

To determine the prevalence of loneliness and social isolation in patients > 65 years old, belonging to a rural population, their sociodemographic profile and the conditioning factors of loneliness.

Methodology:

Descriptive, cross-sectional, analytical study, carried out in the Primary Care Centers of Padrenda (Ourense). 172 patients were included. A questionnaire made up of sociodemographic variables, variables related to their digital connectivity, health status using an analog scale, Barthel index, the simplified Blake and Mckay question and the UCLA Scale was administered.

Results:

The mean age of the participants was 77.85 ± 6.96 years, and the mean number of children was 2.35 ± 1.26. 78.5% of the people stated that they had a good or excellent state of health. 41.3% of the participants presented some level of unwanted loneliness. In the bivariate analysis, the sex variable showed a value of χ2= 7.692 and p = 0.021. Living alone or in company was χ2= 6.117 and p = 0.047. Age showed a χ2= 11.943 and p = 0.003. The number of cars and the Barthel index showed χ2= 11.493 and χ2= 12.003, respectively, and p < 0.003 in both cases. The odds ratio for the state of health (poor, regular, good and excellent) and for 2 groups (with loneliness and without loneliness) of 0.4 (0.156-0.860).

Conclusions:

Age, being a woman and receiving little social support are related to a higher degree of loneliness. Older people with a feeling of loneliness may present a worse state of health if we compare them with people with a lesser feeling of loneliness.

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