Social Isolation: A Predictor of Mortality Comparable to Traditional Clinical Risk Factors

We explored the relationship between social isolation and mortality in a nationally representative US sample and compared the predictive power of social isolation with that of traditional clinical risk factors.

We used data on 16,849 adults from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the National Death Index. Predictor variables were 4 social isolation factors and a composite index. Comparison predictors included smoking, obesity, elevated blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Unadjusted Kaplan-Meier tables and Cox proportional hazards regression models controlling for sociodemographic characteristics were used to predict mortality.