{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T14:00:18Z","timestamp":1789999218751,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788220800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["lww.com","ovid.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"\n Background and Objective:<\/jats:title>\n Mental health disorders affect over 20% of the elderly, with depression being one of the most prevalent conditions. Loneliness plays a significant role in contributing to depression, leading to negative effects on physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being. It also reduces overall quality of life and increases the risk of mortality. Despite its impact, research on gero-psychiatry remains limited, often focusing on clinical settings rather than community-based studies. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of loneliness among older adults and explore the associated factors. The present study was conducted as part of a larger study assessing depression among the elderly. However, the current manuscript specifically focuses on loneliness as an independent entity of public health importance.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Materials and Methods:<\/jats:title>\n A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Mehrauli, a field practice area for Lady Hardinge Medical College, from January 2023 to February 2024. A total of 338 elderly individuals participated. Loneliness was measured using the UCLA scale and functional ability was evaluated using the Katz Index.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results:<\/jats:title>\n \n Most participants (74.6%) were aged 60\u201369 years (mean age 66.28 \u00b1 7.12), and 53.3% were women. The overall prevalence of loneliness was 52.4%. Significant associations were found between loneliness and factors such as age, gender, marital status, education, family structure, socioeconomic status, chronic illness, and functional impairment (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n < 0.05).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n The high prevalence of loneliness among urban elderly highlights the need for timely interventions. Policies promoting social security, mental health awareness, and community engagement can help reduce its impact. NGOs and government initiatives should work together to support elderly well-being.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.4103\/ijcm.ijcm_771_25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T17:02:53Z","timestamp":1789750973000},"page":"816-822","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/lww.0000000000001000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Loneliness and Its Determinants among the Elderly in an Urban Field Practice Area of a Medical College in North India: A Community-Based Cross-sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.4103","volume":"51","author":[{"given":"Shubham Vivekanand","family":"Chawale","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Medicine, Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), New Delhi, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sanjeev K.","family":"Rasania","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Medicine, Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), New Delhi, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Manish K.","family":"Goel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Medicine, Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), New Delhi, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Prerna","family":"Kukreti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), New Delhi, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"276","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"R4-20260921","first-page":"158","article-title":"Screening of depression in elderly population using a geriatric depression scale in the field practice area of urban health training centre attached to SMS Medical College, Jaipur","volume":"13","author":"Kumar","year":"2021","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"R5-20260921","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.56501\/intjcommunitydent.v10i1.26","article-title":"Socioeconomic status scale-Modified Kuppuswamy Scale for the year 2022","volume":"10","author":"Gunjan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Comm Dent"},{"key":"R6-20260921","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"914","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.1963.03060120024016","article-title":"Studies of illness in the aged: The index of ADL: A standardized measure of biological and psychosocial function","volume":"185","author":"Katz","year":"1963","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"R7-20260921","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"227","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691614568352","article-title":"Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review","volume":"10","author":"Holt-Lunstad","year":"2015","journal-title":"Perspect Psychol Sci"},{"key":"R8-20260921","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"621","DOI":"10.1017\/S0144686X0100842X","article-title":"Ageing in India: Drifting intergenerational relations, challenges and options","volume":"21","author":"Bhat","year":"2001","journal-title":"Ageing Soc"},{"key":"R10-20260921","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajp.2019.06.001","article-title":"Loneliness and its correlates amongst elderly attending non-communicable disease rural clinic attached to a tertiary care centre of North India","volume":"43","author":"Grover","year":"2019","journal-title":"Asian J Psychiatry"},{"key":"R11-20260921","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3246","DOI":"10.18203\/2394-6040.ijcmph20163944","article-title":"The prevalence of loneliness and its determinants among geriatric population in Bengaluru City, Karnataka, India","volume":"3","author":"Anil","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int J Community Med Public Health"},{"key":"R12-20260921","first-page":"57","article-title":"Prevalence and determinants of loneliness among older adults in Bangladesh","volume":"5","author":"Rahman","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int J Emerg Trends Soc Sci"},{"key":"R13-20260921","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"290","DOI":"10.1207\/s15327752jpa4203_11","article-title":"Developing a measure of loneliness","volume":"42","author":"Russell","year":"1978","journal-title":"J Pers Assess"},{"key":"R14-20260921","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"655","DOI":"10.1177\/0164027504268574","article-title":"A short scale for measuring loneliness in large surveys: Results from two population-based studies","volume":"26","author":"Hughes","year":"2004","journal-title":"Res Aging"},{"key":"R15-20260921","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4911","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19084911","article-title":"Prevalence of loneliness and associated factors among community-dwelling older adults in Indonesia: A cross-sectional study","volume":"19","author":"Susanty","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"R16-20260921","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"138","DOI":"10.5114\/fmpcr.2019.84550","article-title":"Impact of loneliness in the elderly in health care: A cross-sectional study in an urban region of Portugal","volume":"21","author":"Rocha-Vieira","year":"2019","journal-title":"Family Med Prim Care Rev"},{"key":"R17-20260921","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"860","DOI":"10.1017\/S0144686X15000112","article-title":"Loneliness among older persons in Uganda: Examining social, economic and demographic risk factors","volume":"36","author":"Nzabona","year":"2016","journal-title":"Ageing Soc"},{"key":"R18-20260921","first-page":"10","article-title":"Loneliness and its related factors among elderly people in Yazd","volume":"3","author":"Mirzaei","year":"2017","journal-title":"Elderly Health J"},{"key":"R19-20260921","article-title":"Prevalence and correlates of loneliness in India: A systematic review","author":"Hossain","year":"2020","journal-title":"Advance"}],"container-title":["Indian Journal of Community Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ovid.com\/10.4103\/ijcm.ijcm_771_25","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T13:02:38Z","timestamp":1789995758000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ovid.com\/10.4103\/ijcm.ijcm_771_25"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"references-count":15,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4103\/ijcm.ijcm_771_25","relation":{},"ISSN":["0970-0218","1998-3581"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0970-0218","type":"print"},{"value":"1998-3581","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-10-11","name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-07-29","name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}