Introduction/objectives: One in four older adults in the United States (US) reports being socially isolated or lonely, leading to increases in the odds of having heart disease, a stroke, and dementia. Physical activity (PA) has many benefits in this population, both physical and psychological. One such type of PA growing in popularity is pickleball. Our objective was to understand the relationship of pickleball participation with perceived loneliness and social isolation among older adults in the US.
Methods: We conducted a national cross-sectional survey of 825 US adults over age 50 years. We compared the effect of 3 levels of pickleball play history (never played (NP); played previously, not currently (PP); and currently play (CP)) on loneliness and social isolation.
Results: Most participants (65%) who had ever played pickleball were still currently playing. Over half of the sample (57%) reported being lonely. The adjusted odds of being lonely were greater for NP (adjusted odds ratio 95% CI = 1.53, 1.04-2.23), and PP (1.95, 1.24-3.05) groups. Compared to NP, PP, and CP groups were found to be associated with having made more social connections and reporting a greater number of social engagements, thus appearing to experience less social isolation.
Conclusion: Older adults who participate in pickleball had an associated decreased perceived loneliness and reduced risk of social isolation. Further research is needed to determine if recommendations for those able to physically participate in pickleball might result in similar changes to loneliness and social isolation.
Keywords: health promotion; lifestyle change; physical activity; primary care; social determinants of health.