How is balance impairment linked to social connection in older adults?

Details

The study aimed to characterize and visualize the association between social connection and physical functioning using network analysis, paying attention to different ways of measuring both constructs. It also aimed to identify key indicators linking them.

This observational network analysis used data from the 2014/2016 Health and Retirement Study, with 7,270 participants and a mean age of 67.3 years. Network analysis depicted and explored relationships between physical functioning and social connection. Both constructs were measured with a combination of “objective” indicators, such as a balance test and the number of social connections, and “subjective” indicators, such as self-evaluated activities of daily living (ADLs) and perceived loneliness.

The researchers estimated a regularized partial correlation network. They characterized its structure using assortativity, community detection, and centrality indices—strength and betweenness. Betweenness centrality was used to identify the key nodes linking social connection and physical functioning.

The network was structured by the constructs—social connection versus physical functioning, with assortativity of 0.87—rather than by measurement type—objective versus subjective, with assortativity of 0.45. Five communities were identified in the network, three of which included both subjective and objective indicators. An incomplete balance test was the key bridging indicator linking social connection and physical functioning.

The researchers concluded that the links between social connection and physical functioning are multifaceted. For older adults, balance impairment was the key bridge between these constructs.