La soledad como factor de riesgo del suicidio en personas mayores de 60 años: una revisión sistemática

Introduction

Life expectancy in the elderly population is constantly increasing, as is the incidence of loneliness. This phenomenon in this population can manifest itself objectively or subjectively and persist over time, increasing the risk of physical and psychological health problems, including suicidal ideation and its consummation.

Development

The aim of this systematic review was to analyze the impact of loneliness, both objective and subjective, as a risk factor for suicide in people over 60 years of age. The electronic databases of PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of Science and EMBASE were searched and the evidence was reviewed following the PRISMA criteria. Of the 1,335 articles registered, 15 were selected that met the inclusion criteria.

Conclusions

The results obtained indicate that suicidal ideation in this group ranges between 5.1% and 42%, that the feeling of loneliness fluctuates between 1.6% and 42.16% and that people living alone show a greater propensity to suicidal ideation. The relationship between loneliness and suicide was significant (p < 0.001) in most studies, identifying loneliness as a risk factor. Social support, one of the variables analyzed, was shown to be a protective factor.