Quality of life suffers 90,000 elderly people over 85 are lonely

90,000 people in Switzerland over the age of 85 are lonely, which reduces their quality of life and also their life expectancy.

Keystone-SDA

29.09.2024, 23:16

29.09.2024, 23:17

SDA

In Switzerland, around 90,000 people over the age of 85 are lonely. That is 37 percent of this age group. This limits their quality of life and therefore their life expectancy. However, they are difficult to reach in the fight against loneliness, according to the organization Pro Senectute.

This is based on its Age Monitor, as it announced on Sunday. In contrast to younger senior citizens, the over-85s are more often confronted with the loss of loved ones. For example, 24% of 65 to 74-year-olds cite loneliness as a problem, compared to 25% of 75 to 84-year-olds.

To make matters worse in old age, people over 85 often have to contend with health problems and limited mobility. According to Pro Senectute, the lack of personal contact leads to additional health problems. Lonely people are more likely to suffer from depression and high blood pressure, exercise less, are under more stress and are more likely to develop dementia.

Pro Senectute is therefore appealing to society. The organization relies on low-threshold household and visiting services. The foundation relies on volunteers, which is becoming increasingly difficult.

"We would like to call on interested people to get in touch to make a tangible difference in their own lives and in the lives of older people," Pro Senectute Executive Board member Alexander Widmer was quoted as saying in the press release.