The association of falls with loneliness and social exclusion: evidence from the DEAS German Ageing Survey

BACKGROUND: It remains an open question whether falls are related with social relations, covering subjective (e.g., perceived loneliness) and more objective dimensions (e.g., number of important individuals in regular contact). Consequently, we aimed at examining the association between falls and social ties comprehensively, including loneliness, social exclusion and the number of important people in regular contact. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were used from a population-based sample of community-dwelling individuals aged 40 and over (n = 7808) in Germany. Self-rated loneliness was quantified using a short version of the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. Perceived social exclusion was measured using a scale developed by Bude and Lantermann. Furthermore and in contrast to the subjective outcome measures, the more objective number of important people in regular contact was also used as outcome variable. The experience of a fall in the preceding 12 months (yes; no) was assessed. RESULTS: Controlling for various possible confounding variables, linear regressions showed that experiencing a fall in the past 12 months was associated with higher social exclusion (β = .08, p < .001), and increased loneliness (β = .08, p < .001), whereas it was not associated with the number of important people in regular contact. CONCLUSIONS: Findings stress the relation between falls and feelings of loneliness and social exclusion, whereas falls were unrelated to the more objective measure of number of important people in regular contact, suggesting that falls are particularly related to subjective measures of social ties and relations. This underlines the importance of interventions to prevent falls. Preventing falls in turn might help to prevent loneliness and social exclusion.