Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Inflammation: A Latent Profile Analysis
Loneliness and social isolation are linked to a multitude of adverse health outcomes. One proposed mechanism in which loneliness and social isolation are hypothesized to influence adverse health outcomes is through their independent influences on inflammatory responses. However, as two overlapping but distinct concepts, research on their interactive effect on inflammation is lacking. The current analysis sought to identify profiles of loneliness and social isolation using latent profile analysis (LPA) with data from wave 2 of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study (n=1255). The analysis identified four classes: ‘Majority’ (low loneliness and social isolation), ‘Resilience’ (low loneliness and high social isolation), ‘Vulnerable’ (high loneliness and low social isolation), and ‘Vulnerable Stable’ (high loneliness and social isolation) class. Following the identification of latent profiles or classes of loneliness and social isolation, we investigated the sociodemographic determinants of belonging to the different classes and looked at the association of class membership with three inflammatory cytokines (InterLeukin 6, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein). The odds of being in different classes vary with age and educational levels but not gender. Contrary to previous studies, our results did not find any statistically signification associations between the joint loneliness and social isolation classes and the inflammatory indicators. Overall, the findings illustrate the potential of person-centered approaches for identifying individuals for whom joint patterns of loneliness and social isolation may either promote or counteract well-being.