Biomarkers of Isolation in Older People

This project is a collaboration between Age Concern Eastbourne and the School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Science (PABS) at the University of Brighton. The partnership is designed to identify a range of physiological and biochemical markers that underlie social isolation. Using this range of biomarkers partner plan to screen the efficacy of different interventions at improving health, improve the interventions to maximise their health benefits and to match the right intervention to the right person to maximise health and wellbeing. In addition to improving the health outcomes of older people this study will also increase awareness of the problems of social isolation in older people in the Eastbourne area through joint presentations and articles. The long term goal is to use the pilot data generated from this study to apply for funding in partnership with Age Concern and the Eastbourne community to carry out a long term assessment of the health benefits of a range of interventions in this population. The project will enable us to understand more about the biochemical and physiological changes that occur in socially isolated older people and how these potentially increase morbidity and mortality.

By understanding this process we will have a means to be able to ensure that interventions designed to alleviate social isolation are optimised to maximise health benefits and that the right intervention is being offered to the right person. Overall, the project will increase the public’s awareness of the detrimental effects of social isolation in older people and, through our improved understanding of the mechanisms by which isolation drives illness and premature death, be able to improve the health and wellbeing of older people.

The first assessment day took place on 24th March, after some initial delays due to issues with obtaining ethics and subsequently with issues around recruitment

Once participants start to be assessed it will be 12 weeks before data collection is finished and then a further 2 months to obtain the data. The study is likely to complete around July 2016.

Contact Mark Yeoman for more information [m.s.yeoman@brighton.ac.uk]