A biosocial approach to healthy ageing: The interplay between social isolation and inflammation

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Social isolation of older adults is associated with mortality and a range of health problems - an issue of particular saliency given the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown. One possible mechanism implicated in the process of social isolation getting "under the skin" and affecting health is chronic inflammation, a widespread phenomenon in older people that is a known risk factor for a wide range of health conditions.This PhD project will use data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing to explore the associations between social isolation and healthy ageing outcomes, and whether inflammation is a possible mediator of this relationship. The project started with the operationalisation of a measure of healthy ageing based upon the intrinsic capacity construct outlined by the World Health Organisation, for which no standard measure currently exists. Intrinsic capacity refers to an individual's capacity in 5 domains of function (cognition, locomotion, sensory, vitality, psychological) and, together with an individual's environment, determines functional ability in older age. The association between social isolation and intrinsic capacity will be explored in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, before testing the possible mediation effect of inflammation.