Frailty and Social Isolation: Comparing the Relationship between Frailty and Unidimensional and Multifactorial Models of Social Isolation

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare uni- and multidimensional models of social isolation to improve the specificity of determining associations between social isolation and frailty. Methods: The study included participants aged ≥60 years from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing assessed for social isolation and frailty (frailty index and Fried phenotype) over a 4-year period. Factor analysis assessed whether social isolation was multidimensional. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess specificity in associations between social isolation and frailty over time. Results: Social isolation comprises social isolation from nuclear family, other immediate family, and wider social networks. Over time, social isolation from a wider social network predicted higher frailty index levels, and higher frailty index and Fried phenotype levels predicted greater social isolation from a wider social network. Discussion: Social isolation is multidimensional. The reciprocal relationship between social isolation from wider social networks and accumulating frailty deficits, and frailty as a clinical syndrome influencing social isolation from social networks is discussed.