Factors associated with loneliness in middle-aged and older patients with breast cancer

Loneliness is associated with adverse mental and physical health conditions and increased mortality. In this study, we identified significant factors associated with loneliness in middle-aged and older patients with breast cancer (BC).

For this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 200 patients (aged from 20 to 60 years) with BC from two hospitals in Indonesia through convenience sampling. Demographic characteristics, distress symptoms (Symptom Distress Scale), social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support), frailty (Groningen Frailty Indicator), and loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale, version 3) were measured. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify significant factors associated with loneliness in our cohort.

Loneliness risk was negatively correlated with social support but positively correlated with unemployment and frailty. Thus, the patients received a high level of social support (odds ratio [OR]: 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.92-0.99) and had a low risk of severe loneliness. By contrast, patients who were unemployed (OR: 4.00; 95% CI: 1.65-9.66) and those who had frailty (OR: 5.79; 95% CI: 2.50-13.42) had an elevated risk of severe loneliness.

Unemployment, social support, and frailty may significantly influence the risk of loneliness in patients with BC. Early and regular assessments of loneliness should be integrated in the care of these patients. Suitable strategies aimed at increasing social support and mitigating frailty may benefit middle-aged and older patients with BC, particularly unemployed patients, by reducing their risk of loneliness.