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. 2022 Jan 24;31(7):1977–1997. doi: 10.1007/s11136-021-03063-1

Table 4.

Study characteristics and reported utility weights by level of social isolation from extracted studies

Author, Country Population characteristics Study design (sample size) Reported health conditions Utility instrument (tariff used) Social isolation measure Overall population
Overall social isolation score (SD)
Mean utility score (SD)		 Mean Utility scores (U) for those ‘not socially isolated’, ‘socially isolated’ and by levels of social isolation
Yap et al., France [40]

 ≥ 65 years mean age (SD): 75 (6.4)

living in the community

Living alone 33%

Women: 94%

 RCT to explore the effects of Rhythm-centred music making on HRQoL (n = 54) More than 3 co-morbidities: 80% EQ-5D-5L (Singapore general population) The Lubben Social Network Scale 6-itema

Intervention

T1:

18.50 (7.5,23)b

U:0.81 (0.67, 0.94)

T2:

12.50 (8.5,18.5)

U:0.94 (0.72, 1.00)

T3:

12.00 (8,16)

U:0.87 (0.69, 0.88)

Control

T1:

10.00 (4,14)

U:0.63 (0.28, 0.74)

T2:

12.00 (6, 14)

U:0.60 (0.35, 0.86)

T3:

11 (6, 17)

U:0.63 (0.39, 0.74)

Not socially isolated (greater than 12)

18.50, U:0.81

12.50, U:0.94

Socially isolated (less than 12)

12.00, U:0.87

11.00, U:0.63

12.00, U:0.60

11.00, U:0.63
Weng Yew et al., Singapore [41]

Mean age: 54.3 years (16.8)

Women: 56.2%

Community-dwelling adults

 Cross-sectional study (n = 1510) Skin diseases EQ-5D-5L The Lubben Social Network Scale 6-itema

Having a skin disease

15.9 (6.4)

U: 0.89 (0.18)

Not having a skin disease

16.6 (5.9)

U: 0.95 (0.12)

Not socially isolated (greater than 12)

15.9, U:0.89

16.6, U:5.9
Nikmat et al., Malaysia [50]

Patients aged 60–89 years

mean age (SD) 69 (6.97)

living in community

single/separated 42%; healthy 74%

nursing homes

mean age (SD): 72 (7.66)

single/separated: 87%; healthy 60%

Cross-sectional design

community (n = 19)

nursing home (n = 30)

 All having dementia AQoL-8D (Australian general population) Friendship Scalec

Community:

15.11 (3.63)

U:0.43 (0.18)

Nursing Home:

10.80 (3.68)

U:0.30 (0.20)

Isolated/ low level of social support: [12–15]

15.11-, U:0.43

Very socially isolated: [0–11]

10.80, U:0.30
Jansons et al., Australia [34]

 ≥ 65 years mean age (SD)

Home-based programme:

Mean age (SD): 66 (13)

Women: 75%

Married 61%

Gym-based programme

Mean age (SD): 68 (11)

Women: 54%

Married 78%

Interventional study in adults with chronic health conditions such as cancer or diabetes:

Home-based programme with telephone support (n = 51)

Gym-based exercise programme (n = 54)

Multiple co-morbidities;

poor or declining mobility; physical de-conditioning; or a combination of these problems

 EQ-5D-3L (UK general population) Friendship Scalec

Homed

Baseline:

19.2 (3.9)

U:0.67 (0.21)

3-months

19.0 (4.4)

U:0.65 (0.22)

6-months

19.8 (4.1)

U:0.67 (0.25)

9-months

19.1 (4.5)

U:0.66 90.22)

12-months

17.1 (4.4)

U:0.68 (0.22)

Gym

Baseline:

19.2 (4.2)

U:0.63 (0.26)

3-months

19.2 (4.5)

U:0.59 (0.28)

6-months

19.7 (3.4)

U:0.67 (0.25)

9-months

20.0 (3.9)

U:0.66 (0.23)

12-months

17.5 (4.2)

U:0.67 (0.25)

Socially connected d

[19–21]

19.2, U:0.67

19.0, U:0.65

19.8, U:0.67

19.1, U:0.66

19.2, U:0.63

19.2, U:0.59

19.7, U:0.67

20.0, U:0.66

Some social support:

[16–18]

17.1, U:0.68

17.5, U:0.67
Hawton et al., United Kingdom [38]

Community living > 50 years of age,

at risk of social isolation (n = 232):

mean age (SD): 72 (11.8)

living alone: 49.6%

socially isolated (n = 94):

mean age (SD): 69.7 (12.0)

living alone: 38.3%

severely socially isolated (n = 67):

mean age (SD): 69.8 (12.1)

living alone: 50.7

 Cross-Sectional Study (n = 393)

At risk of social isolation

number of physical co-morbidities 2.0 (1.3)

clinically depressed: 37.6%

socially isolated:

number of physical co-morbidities: 1.6 (1.3)

clinically depressed: 34.4%

severely socially

number of physical co-morbidities 2.1 (1.3)

clinically depressed: 65.2%

EQ-5D-3L

SF-6D (UK general population)

 Social Health Batterye

At risk

EQ-5D: 0.65

SF-6D: 0.67

Socially Isolated

EQ-5D: 0.69

SF-6D: 0.67

Severely socially isolated

EQ-5D: 0.50 (0.32)

SF-6D: 0.59 (0.12)
Gardner et al., Australia [33]

18–25 years old

Mean age (SD): 21 (2.21)

Women: 48%

Living with family: 72%

 Exploratory observational study (n = 159) Serious mental illnessf AQoL-8D (Australian general population) The Social Inclusion Scaleg

Socially isolated:

13.41 (3.83)

U:0.42 (0.21)
Sarant et al., Australia [36] Mean age (SD) 72 (6.8) Interventional study investigating the impact of cochlear implants (n = 20) with severe–profound hearing loss HUI3 (Not stated) The Lubben Social Network Scale-10 item revised h

Baseline:

45.36, U:0.56

18 months:

44.77, U:0.67

aThe Lubben Social Network Scale- 6 item, the scores range between 0 and 30, with a higher score indicating more social engagement. Score less than 12 indicate being socially isolated

bMedian and (IQR)

cFriendship Scale: A score of ‘0’ indicates complete social isolation and a score of ‘24’ indicates high social connectedness, categorised into 0–11 very socially isolated, 12–15 isolated or low level social support, 16–18 some social support, 19–21 socially connected, 22-24very socially connected

dThis RCT collected loneliness and utility data across 5 measurement points (baseline, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 24 months) for the intervention and the control group

eAn item from Rand Social Health Battery ‘How many times a year do you get together with friends and relatives, e.g. going out together or visiting each other’s homes?’. Two additional questions from the Social Health Battery addressed social activity: ‘How many close friends and family do you have?’ and ‘About how many clubs/groups/ organisations do you belong to?’. Six items from the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey were used to measure the availability of aspects of functional social support

fSerious mental illness included depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorder, trauma-related disorder, bipolar related disorder, eating disorder, obsessive–compulsive and related disorders, substance-related and addictive disorders

gThe Social Inclusion Scale, a 19-item self-report measure of social inclusion. It contains a sub-scale of a Social Isolation (range 5–20, higher scores indicate more social isolation)

hThe Lubben Social Network Scale-revised the score ranges between 0 and 50, with a higher score indicating more social engagement a score less than 20 indicate person with high risk of social isolation