# Loneliness in Aging with Schizophrenia

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2022 · $741,752

## Abstract

In recent years there has been increased awareness and concern about the “epidemic of loneliness” among
older adults and other general population, but the prevalence is even higher among people with schizophrenia.
Loneliness is a significant risk factor for medical comorbidity, cognitive dysfunction, reduced functional
capacity, lower well-being, and earlier mortality. The mortality risk associated with loneliness is double that for
obesity, and equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. Notably, many of the deleterious effects associated
with loneliness parallel those associated with schizophrenia and aging. This convergence raises a question of
whether loneliness significantly contributes to the deficits in health, cognition and functional capacity,
physiologic function, and well-being among middle-aged and older adults with schizophrenia. The proposed
project is the first comprehensive study of the nature, longitudinal stability, and deleterious impact of loneliness
in schizophrenia. Given recent conceptualizations of schizophrenia as a systemic disorder resulting in
accelerated aging, and the manner in which loneliness may evolve over the life-course, the focus for this study
will be on the effects of loneliness with age among middle-aged and older adults with schizophrenia (n=120) as
well as age-comparable non-psychiatric comparison (NC) subjects (n=90). The study employs a longitudinal
burst design, with in-person visits and assessments of key variables at baseline, 6-, and 12-months. For seven
days following each of the three primary study visits, smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment
(EMA) will be used to measure loneliness, social activity, and mood in real-time. Our primary aims include
determining the associations of schizophrenia and aging with persistent loneliness, and the degree to which
the associations are independent of social isolation and depressive symptoms. The other primary aim is to
determine the association of persistent loneliness over 6- and 12-months with levels and patterns of biological
markers of health, medical comorbidity, cognitive dysfunction, functional capacity, and health-related quality of
life. Hypotheses predict schizophrenia being associated with worse and more persistent loneliness, and that
persistent loneliness will be associated with worse biological markers of health and other outcomes. We also
expect these associations to increase with advancing age. Stability and temporal relationships between acute
loneliness, social activity, and mood measured in real-time using EMA, and associations of these patterns with
those from the standard in-person measures will also be assessed. The data from this project will fill a critical
unmet need for empirical data to guide the content and focus of efforts to prevent and reduce deleterious
biological and longer-term health outcomes and diminished well-being in older adults with schizophrenia.
Together, this study represents a significant and innovativ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10415094
- **Project number:** 5R01MH120201-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Barton W. Palmer
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $741,752
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10415094

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10415094, Loneliness in Aging with Schizophrenia (5R01MH120201-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10415094. Licensed CC0.

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