The study followed 3,771 adults aged 60 or over, 435 always living alone, in the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. In Cox models adjusted for demographics and behaviour, living alone had hazard ratios 1.49 all-cause, 1.81 cancer, 1.92 cardio-cerebrovascular. With inverse probability weighting that added income, education and area, none remained significant (all-cause 0.95). In weighted subgroups, living alone was linked to higher all-cause mortality among low-income adults (HR 1.33). It was also linked to cardio-cerebrovascular death among those with no close-friend contact in the past year (HR 3.41). Deaths were confirmed through family death certificates and interviews, so isolated adults without family may be under-counted.
Why it is interesting: It tests whether living alone predicts death once socioeconomic factors are balanced, and the overall association does not hold. Elevated weighted estimates appear only in subgroups, notably low-income adults and those without close-friend contact in the past year.
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