Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Papagavriel, Katerina
• Jones, Rebecca
• Sheehan, Rory
• Hassiotis, Angela
• Ali, Afia

Titel

The association between loneliness and common mental disorders in adults with borderline intellectual impairment

Ist Teil von

• Journal of affective disorders, 2020-12, Vol.277, p.954-961

Ort / Verlag

Netherlands: Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• •People with borderline intellectual impairment represent 10% of the population.•They have a higher prevalence of loneliness than the general population.•Loneliness is associated with socio-demographic factors such as being single and low income.•Loneliness was associated with depression, anxiety disorders and suicidal thoughts.•People with borderline intellectual functioning who had lower income and suicidal thoughts in the last week were more likely to be lonely than their counterparts in the general population. Loneliness is linked to a number of adverse health outcomes in the general population. There is a lack of evidence on the prevalence and impact of loneliness in people with borderline intellectual impairment. Data from the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, a national survey of England, was analysed using Weights-adjusted regression analyses to compare the prevalence of loneliness and the association between loneliness and socio-demographic and clinical variables in people with borderline intellectual impairment and the general population. Data from 6877 participants were included. Ten percent (n = 671) of the sample had borderline intellectual impairment and their prevalence of loneliness was 24.5% compared to 18.4% in the general population. This difference was explained by exposure to social disadvantages. Associations were found in both groups between loneliness and being single, unemployed, low income, lower social support, feeling unsafe and discrimination in the past year. Loneliness was associated with lower wellbeing and higher rates of common mental disorders, suicidal thoughts and chronic physical disorders in both groups. Intellectual functioning moderated the relationship between loneliness and income (OR 1.82; 95%CI 1.06 to 3.11) and suicidal thoughts in the last week (OR 0.13; 95% CI 0.02 to 0.93). IQ was measured using the National Adult Reading Test (NART), which is only valid for English speakers and loneliness was measured using a single item. Loneliness is more prevalent in people with borderline intellectual impairment. Interventions targeting social disadvantages (e.g. low income) may lead reduce loneliness and vulnerability to mental health problems.