The loneliness

Hope, sometimes, passes through the elderly. It passes through those who have lived their lives, who have seen so much and could tell so much, and who now always have a future ahead of them, but objectively not too long. Hope also passes through the words and gestures of those who, now elderly, continue to represent a resource for their family and friends, to whom they offer help and support. Very often reciprocated.

In an increasingly aging society like the Italian one, the living conditions of the over 65s have become one of the indicators that weigh most heavily in the overall picture of the state of health of the country. There is widespread awareness of the role of the elderly and of the obvious differences that on average accompany the condition of those who have recently (or a few years ago) left the world of work (65-75 years) and those who are approaching or have already passed (and sometimes by a long way) the psychological threshold of 80 years. It is well known how elderly grandparents can be a “holy hand” for their children and grandchildren, that is, not only a valid and very useful help in the frenetic rhythms of daily life, but a real pillar of family and social welfare, which is also completely free. The Passi d’Argento report by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità highlights how over one in four elderly people is a resource for their family members or for the community, and, despite this, the fact that attendance at meeting places such as parishes or senior centers is significantly decreasing: it went from 29% in 2018/19 to 25% in 2022/23.

In fact, according to what all the main surveys on this population universe tell us, the real and great enemy of those over 65 is called loneliness: it is the absence of networks and relationships that exposes them to the risk of social isolation, and vice versa it is the presence of networks and relationships that proves essential for the well-being of this community.
The Istituto Superiore di Sanità highlights how in recent years a slow but constant reduction has been observed in the share of people at risk of social isolation: it stood at 20% of those over sixty-five in 2016/17 and fell to 17% in 2018/19, 16% in 2020/21, 15% in the two-year period 2022/23. A decline that the pandemic seems to have slowed down but not completely blocked. Interestingly, the condition of social isolation does not show significant gender differences and is more frequent among those over eighty-five (32% compared to 10% among 65-74 year olds), among those with a low level of education (24% compared to 10% among more educated people), among those with greater economic difficulties (27% compared to 11% among those without) and among residents in the southern regions (20% compared to 13% in the Center and 10% in the North). "It is necessary - summarizes the president of the ISS - to break the circle of loneliness that tightens around the elderly because this psychological condition significantly affects the quality of their life and their health".

Stefano Caredda
NP October 2024