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According to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, loneliness is associated with excess risk for adverse outcomes in adults, including premature death, cognitive impairment, depression, and anxiety. To determine whether lonely people are prone to using high-risk medications for physical and psychological symptoms, researchers conducted this cross-sectional study among a nationally representative sample of 6000 community-dwelling U.S. adults (mean age, 73) who participated in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project.
Loneliness was categorized as none, low/moderate, or high, according to the 3-item 2004 UCLA Loneliness Scale. Overall, 40% of participants were classified as low/moderately lonely, and 7% were highly lon…