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Episode 114 | Loneliness - With Dr. Ellen Lee


“The INS neither promotes nor recommends any commercial products discussed in this episode”



Overview

In this episode, we discuss loneliness with Dr. Ellen Lee. We cover definitions, epidemiology, various assessment methods (including digital technology), relationships with age, sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and culture, overall physical, cognitive, and mental health effects, and interventions to reduce loneliness.



apa-logo_white_screenThe International Neuropsychological Society is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The International Neuropsychological Society maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Instructor Credentials

Ellen Lee

Ellen E. Lee, MD is Assistant Professor and Division Chief of Geriatric Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego and Staff Psychiatrist at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. She is Board-certified in Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry. She completed her medical degree at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, research fellowship at National Institutes of Health, residency in general psychiatry at University of Maryland / Sheppard Pratt Hospital, and clinical fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at UC San Diego. Dr. Lee’s research focuses on biological and psychosocial aging in persons with schizophrenia and healthy aging populations, examining relationships between aging, sleep disturbances, cognition, loneliness, and metabolic health. Her research is funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, American Psychiatric Association, Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute, and Desert-Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center.


Educational Objectives
  • Define loneliness and differentiate it from related constructs such as social isolation and depression.
  • Discuss the literature on associations between loneliness and physical, cognitive, and mental health.
  • Apply knowledge from this episode in clinical care (e.g., assessment, intervention) of people who experience loneliness.
Target Audience
  • Introductory
Availability
  • Date Available: 2023-02-22
  • You may obtain CE for this podcast at any time.
Offered for CE
  • Yes
Cost
  • Members $20
  • Non-Members $25
Refund Policy
  • This podcast is not eligible for refunds
CE Credits
  • 1.0 Credit(s)
Disclosures
  • The author receives grants as an independent contractor from the National Institute of Mental Health
Resources
  • N/A
Bibliography
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  • Badal, V. D., Lee, E. E., Daly, R., Parrish, E. M., Kim, H. C., Jeste, D. V., & Depp, C. A. (2022). Dynamics of Loneliness Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Pilot Study of Ecological Momentary Assessment With Network Analysis. Frontiers in Digital Health, 4, 3.
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  • Boss, L., Kang, D. H., & Branson, S. (2015). Loneliness and cognitive function in the older adult: a systematic review. International psychogeriatrics, 27(4), 541-553.
  • Badal, V. D., Nebeker, C., Shinkawa, K., Yamada, Y., Rentscher, K. E., Kim, H. C., & Lee, E. E. (2021). Do Words matter? Detecting social isolation and loneliness in older adults using natural language processing. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 1932.
  • Badal, V. D., Graham, S. A., Depp, C. A., Shinkawa, K., Yamada, Y., Palinkas, L. A., ... & Lee, E. E. (2021). Prediction of loneliness in older adults using natural language processing: exploring sex differences in speech. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 29(8), 853-866.
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  • Jeste, D. V., Di Somma, S., Lee, E. E., Nguyen, T. T., Scalcione, M., Biaggi, A., ... & Brenner, D. (2021). Study of loneliness and wisdom in 482 middle-aged and oldest-old adults: a comparison between people in Cilento, Italy and San Diego, USA. Aging & mental health, 25(11), 2149-2159.
  • Jeste, D. V., Lee, E. E., & Cacioppo, S. (2020). Battling the modern behavioral epidemic of loneliness: suggestions for research and interventions. JAMA psychiatry, 77(6), 553-554.
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  • Kidambi, N., & Lee, E. E. (2020). Insight into Potential Mechanisms linking Loneliness and Cognitive Decline: Commentary on “Health factors as potential mediator the longitudinal effect of loneliness on general cognitive ability”. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28(12), 1284-1286.
  • Lara, E., Caballero, F. F., Rico‐Uribe, L. A., Olaya, B., Haro, J. M., Ayuso‐Mateos, J. L., & Miret, M. (2019). Are loneliness and social isolation associated with cognitive decline? International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 34(11), 1613-1622.
  • Lee, E. E., Depp, C., Palmer, B. W., Glorioso, D., Daly, R., Liu, J., ... & Jeste, D. V. (2019). High prevalence and adverse health effects of loneliness in community-dwelling adults across the lifespan: role of wisdom as a protective factor. International psychogeriatrics, 31(10), 1447-1462.
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  • Masi, C. M., Chen, H. Y., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2011). A meta-analysis of interventions to reduce loneliness. Personality and social psychology review, 15(3), 219-266.
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  • Morlett Paredes, A., Lee, E. E., Chik, L., Gupta, S., Palmer, B. W., Palinkas, L. A., ... & Jeste, D. V. (2021). Qualitative study of loneliness in a senior housing community: the importance of wisdom and other coping strategies. Aging & mental health, 25(3), 559-566.
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  • Nguyen, T. T., Lee, E. E., Daly, R. E., Wu, T. C., Tang, Y., Tu, X., ... & Palmer, B. W. (2020). Predictors of loneliness by age decade: study of psychological and environmental factors in 2,843 community-dwelling Americans aged 20-69 years. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 81(6), 15111.
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