Social engagement before and after diabetes diagnosis: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

To investigate the trajectory of social engagement from before to after diabetes diagnosis at three time points (prediagnosis, diagnosis, 2 years postdiagnosis) in individuals who developed diabetes and a comparison group.

Data were from 3,185 initially diabetes-free participants from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (Wave 2; 2004-2005). Face-to-face contact and telephone contact with friends, family, and children were assessed from Wave 3 (2006-2007) to Wave 8 (2016-2017). Cultural engagement (derived as an index of museum, theatre, and cinema attendance) was also measured from Waves 3 to 8. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess differences by group, time, and group-by-time interactions, adjusting for age, sex, wealth, education, marital status, ethnicity, depressive symptoms, sedentary behavior, and limiting physical illness.

A total of 341 (10.7%) individuals developed diabetes. The diabetes group reported lower face-to-face contact, W²(1) = 17.06, p < .001, and lower telephone contact, W²(1) = 13.06, p < .001, than the comparison group across all time points. They were less likely to engage in cultural activities, W²(1) = 13.03, p < .001, across time points. No significant group-by-time interactions were detected for any of the social engagement variables.

Individuals who develop diabetes have lower face-to-face and telephone contact with friends, family, and children than those who do not develop diabetes. They also report lower engagement with cultural activities than those without diabetes. Future research should investigate whether screening for social factors during a midlife health check could mitigate the potential impact of diabetes on people's social engagement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).