Reciprocal Relations of Social Isolation and Multimorbidity in Chinese Elderly

This study aims to investigate the bidirectional associations between social isolation (SI) and multimorbidity among Chinese older adults.

Data from six waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey spanning from 2002 to 2018 were analyzed. A General Cross-Lagged Model was employed in 2023 to investigate the temporal interrelationships between SI and multimorbidity among individuals aged 65 years and older.

In the short-term, significant bidirectional associations between SI and multimorbidity were found. Higher levels of SI at a given time point were associated with increased multimorbidity scores in the future, while greater levels of multimorbidity at a given time were associated with higher future SI scores. In the long-term, it is more likely that initial multimorbidity affect SI rather than initial SI affecting multimorbidity.

This study contributes to the understanding of the bidirectional associations between SI and multimorbidity among Chinese older adults, highlighting that initial multimorbidity was associated with future SI.