Study Finds Seniors Who Live Alone More Likely To Rate Their Health Highly

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Are seniors who live alone on to something?

Researchers examined how health varies across living arrangements among older adults and found that seniors living with others, related or not, had the poorest health.

Adults aged 65 and older were sampled from a National Health Interview Survey 2009-2014.

Researchers compared four indicators of health: serious psychological distress, health status, functional limitations and a number of health conditions.

Researchers say older adults living with others were less likely to report excellent or very good health, had serious psychological distress and limitations in activities of daily living, and a greater number of health conditions.

According to the study, older women living alone or with children were more likely to report two or more health conditions compared with women living with a spouse or partner, suggesting that in older age, there are gender variations in health across living arrangements.

The opposite was true for older men living alone. Researchers say they were less likely to report having two or more chronic health conditions than counterparts in households with spouses or partners.

They were also less likely to report their health as fair or poor.

But still, researchers said they drew no conclusions about whether keeping a solitary household in old age leads to a longer life.

In fact, living alone wasn't better in every way for people over 65, according to the study.

Those who share a home with a spouse or partner were less likely to report serious psychological distress than were older people without companions, the study said.

"Their physical health was better living alone rather than with a spouse or partner, but the mental health from living alone was worse," said Judith D. Weissman, the study's lead author.