In this article, we analyse loneliness trajectories for older people aged 50 or
more in selected European countries by gender. We also focus on the relationship
between disability and loneliness trajectories. We use three waves of the longitudinal
SHARE database. Loneliness trajectories are non-linear, increasing with age for
both genders, and have the same shape irrespective of disability status but with different
levels of loneliness. Loneliness persistence increases with disability and disability
severity, especially for women. Worsening (improving) disability increases
(decreases) the risk of loneliness persistence. We build rankings of the country’s
effects on loneliness persistence by gender. Mediterranean and Eastern European
countries have the highest persistence rates, while the lowest rates are in Northern
countries.
