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Pain, depression, and fatigue: loneliness as a longitudinal risk factor
Jaremka LM, Andridge RR, Fagundes CP, Alfano CM, Povoski SP, Lipari AM, Agnese DM, Arnold MW et al.. Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2013-08-19
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective Pain, depression, and fatigue function as a symptom cluster and thus may share common risk factors. Interpersonal relationships clearly influence health, suggesting that loneliness may promote the development of the pain, depression, and fatigue symptom cluster. We hypothesized that loneliness would be related to concurrent symptom cluster levels and increases in symptom cluster levels over time. Method We utilized two observational studies with distinct longitudinal samples. Study 1 was a sample of cancer survivors and benign controls (N = 115) assessed annually for 2 years. Study 2 was a sample of older adults caring for a spouse with dementia (caregivers) and non-caregiver controls (N = 229) assessed annually for 4 years. Participants completed annual measures assessing loneliness, pain, depression, and fatigue. Results Across both samples, lonelier participants experienced more concurrent pain, depression, and fatigue and larger increases in symptom cluster levels from one year to the next than less lonely participants. Sleep quality did not mediate the results in either study. All analyses were adjusted for relevant demographic and health variables. Conclusions Two longitudinal studies with different populations demonstrated that loneliness was a risk factor for the development of the pain, depression, and fatigue symptom cluster over time. The current research helps identify people most at risk for pain, depression, and fatigue, and lays the groundwork for research about their diagnosis and treatment. These data also highlight the health risks of loneliness; pain, depression, and fatigue often accompany serious illness and place people at risk for poor health and mortality.
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APA 7th
Jaremka, L. M., Andridge, R. R., Fagundes, C. P., Alfano, C. M., Povoski, S. P., Lipari, A. M., et al. (2014). Pain, depression, and fatigue: loneliness as a longitudinal risk factor. Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034012
Vancouver
Jaremka LM, Andridge RR, Fagundes CP, Alfano CM, Povoski SP, Lipari AM, et al. Pain, depression, and fatigue: loneliness as a longitudinal risk factor. Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association. 2014. doi:10.1037/a0034012. PMID: 23957903.
BibTeX
@article{jaremka2014-23957903,
author = {Jaremka, L. M. and Andridge, R. R. and Fagundes, C. P. and Alfano, C. M. and Povoski, S. P. and Lipari, A. M. and Agnese, D. M. and Arnold, M. W. and others},
title = {{Pain, depression, and fatigue: loneliness as a longitudinal risk factor}},
journal = {Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1037/a0034012},
pmid = {23957903},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034012}
}
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Key findings
- Interpersonal relationships clearly influence health, suggesting that loneliness may promote the development of the pain, depression, and fatigue symptom cluster.
- Results Across both samples, lonelier participants experienced more concurrent pain, depression, and fatigue and larger increases in symptom cluster levels from one year to the next than less lonely participants.
- Sleep quality did not mediate the results in either study.
- Conclusions Two longitudinal studies with different populations demonstrated that loneliness was a risk factor for the development of the pain, depression, and fatigue symptom cluster over time.
Why it matters
In two longitudinal samples, including older adults caring for a spouse with dementia, lonelier participants had more concurrent pain, depression, and fatigue and larger increases over time than less lonely participants. It identifies loneliness as a risk factor for a symptom cluster but does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants115
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 64/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Health Psychology: journal h-index 265 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 115 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 346 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 24.7 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 14.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 95 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Janice K. Kiecolt‐Glaser: h-index 123 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | National Cancer Institute: institution h-index 1,612 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23957903) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 64 / 100 | — |
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