There is a general opinion that extraverted people suffer more than introverted people in home-office arrangement and the social distancing regulation imposed by the government during the Corona ...Virus Disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19). However, scarce research exists concerning how extraversion is associated with satisfaction with home-office arrangement, to what extent individuals miss their colleagues, level of stress, and whether they meet colleagues outside work during lockdown.
An online survey was distributed in six police districts in Norway during late May and beginning of June, right before the most stringent measures for constraining risk of COVID-infection was lifted. 1133 out of 1472 reported that their work-situation was home-office, or combined home-office and physical attendance at work. Contrary to what expected, extraversion was not related to satisfaction with home-office arrangement when controlling for other relevant variables (i.e. stress, home-office only, living alone, age, gender and civilian employment). As hypothesized, those with a higher score on extraversion missed their colleagues more than those with low scores. There was a marginal, although significant, negative association between extraversion and stress, and a significant positive relationship between stress and the extent the respondents missed their colleagues during lockdown, independent of extraversion. The results showed a dose-response relationship between extraversion and meeting colleagues outside the work during lockdown.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly prevalent among older adults in the United States, with implications for morbidity and mortality risk. Little research to date has examined the ...complex person-place transactions that contribute to social well-being in later life. This study aimed to characterize personal and neighborhood contextual influences on social isolation and loneliness among older adults. Interviews were conducted with independent-dwelling men and women (n = 124; mean age 71 years) in the Minneapolis metropolitan area (USA) from June to October, 2015. A convergent mixed-methods design was applied, whereby quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in parallel to gain simultaneous insights into statistical associations and in-depth individual perspectives. Logistic regression models predicted self-reported social isolation and loneliness, adjusted for age, gender, past occupation, race/ethnicity, living alone, street type, residential location, and residential density. Qualitative thematic analyses of interview transcripts probed individual experiences with social isolation and loneliness. The quantitative results suggested that African American adults, those with a higher socioeconomic status, those who did not live alone, and those who lived closer to the city center were less likely to report feeling socially isolated or lonely. The qualitative results identified and explained variation in outcomes within each of these factors. They provided insight on those who lived alone but did not report feeling lonely, finding that solitude was sought after and enjoyed by a portion of participants. Poor physical and mental health often resulted in reporting social isolation, particularly when coupled with poor weather or low-density neighborhoods. At the same time, poor health sometimes provided opportunities for valued social engagement with caregivers, family, and friends. The combination of group-level risk factors and in-depth personal insights provided by this mixed-methodology may be useful to develop strategies that address social isolation and loneliness in older communities.
•Social isolation and loneliness are influenced by personal and neighborhood factors.•Qualitative findings explain variations in trends identified in quantitative models.•Poor health can have both negative and positive effects on social isolation.•Some socially isolated older adults seek solitude and are content, not lonely.•Results are relevant for strategies to address social isolation and loneliness.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Objective: Older adults who live alone are more likely to report feelings of depression than those who live with a spouse or other family members. This study examines the effects of residential ...status and perceived neighborhood characteristics on depression in middle-aged and older adults.
Methods: This study is based on a probability sample of 1049 adults aged 55-98 years (M = 69 years) residing in Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, PA, USA in 2014. Thirty percent of participants reported living alone. We tested a multivariate model using living alone (vs. living with a family member or others) and perceived neighborhood physical and social quality as predictors of depressive symptomatology while controlling for age, sex, race, education, and disability.
Results: Living alone (compared to living with a family member) was associated with elevated levels of depressive symptomatology. However, perceptions of neighborhood social quality moderated this association. Living alone was more highly associated with depression when the perceived social quality of the neighborhood was low. Neighborhood social quality was not associated with depression among older adults who lived with a family member. Perceptions of neighborhood physical quality were not significantly associated with depression.
Conclusions: Perceptions of good neighborhood social quality is important for adults who live alone, in terms of fewer symptoms of depression.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
The aging population and increasing evidence of the detrimental health impacts of loneliness emphasize the importance of studying and predicting changes in loneliness prevalence among older adults. ...To understand and project changes in loneliness over time, we examined 35-year trends in adults aged 70 and older, considering factors such as sex, age, and living situation. Cross-sectional data from 27,032 home-dwelling adults aged 70 years and older who participated in at least one of the four Norwegian HUNT surveys from 1984 to 2019, and Norwegian population data from Statistics Norway were used for the analyses. Loneliness was self-reported, and the prevalence of loneliness was standardized to the Norwegian population at the survey year by age and sex. The results showed that the prevalence of loneliness significantly decreased between each survey. The higher categories of loneliness (a good amount, very much) decreased, from 11.4% (1995–97), 6.7% (2006–08), and 5.8% (2017–19). Across surveys, loneliness was significantly more common among women, the oldest, and those living alone. The prevalence of loneliness among the oldest adults living alone increased from 2006 to 2019. The gradual decline in loneliness observed from 1995 to 2019 coincided with notable societal changes in Norway. We estimated that the number of older adults experiencing loneliness in Norway could rise from 184,000 in 2020 to 286,000 in 2035, and potentially reach 380,000 in 2050.
•Loneliness is associated with female sex, older age and living alone.•The prevalence of loneliness declined from 1984 to 2019 among people aged 70 + .•Loneliness have increased in recent years among the oldest old living alone.•Projections to 2050 indicate doubling in lonely older adults due to population aging
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
People undergoing mass home- and community-based quarantine are vulnerable to mental health disorders during outbreaks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but few studies have evaluated the associated ...psychosocial factors.
This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms and identify associated demographic and psychosocial factors in the general Chinese population during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine period.
Participants aged 18 years or above were recruited in a cross-sectional online survey using snowball sampling from February 26-29, 2020. The survey included questions on demographics, family relationships, chronic diseases, quarantine conditions, lifestyle, COVID-19 infection, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with elevated anxiety or depressive symptoms.
Out of 2331 participants, 762 (32.7%) experienced elevated anxiety or depressive symptoms. Nine risk factors associated with anxiety or depressive symptoms included younger age, reduced income, having cancer or other chronic diseases, having family members living with cancer, concerns related to COVID-19 infection for themselves or family members, living alone, having family conflicts, having <3 or >8 hours of sedentary time per day, and worsened sleep quality.
The findings highlight an urgent need for psychological support for populations at high risk for elevated anxiety or depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This study aimed to evaluate the longitudinal relationships between living alone, being childless, and six mental health indicators and mortality in older adults in Thailand between 2015 and 2020.
We ...examined prospective cohort data from the Health, Aging and Retirement in Thailand (HART) study, which included participants 45 years of age and older (N = 2863) from three successive waves in 2015, 2017, and 2020. Mental health indicators were assessed by self-report. We used Generalized Estimating Equations analysis (GEE) to evaluate the longitudinal relationships between measures of living alone, childlessness and six mental health indicators and mortality.
The proportion of living alone was 6.3 % and childlessness 9.9 % in 2015, while living alone only was 3.9 %, childlessness only 7.5 % and both living alone and childlessness 2.4 % in 2015. In the adjusted model, living alone only was among men positively associated with depressive symptoms, loneliness, poor quality of life and mortality, and among women only positively associated with poor quality of life. Childlessness only was among women positively associated with depressive symptoms, insomnia symptoms, loneliness, poor quality of life, poor self-rated mental health, and mortality, and among men with depressive symptoms, loneliness, poor quality of life and poor self-rated mental health. Both living alone and childlessness was among men associated with four mental health indicators (depressive symptoms, insomnia symptoms, loneliness, and poor quality of life), and among women two mental health indicators (loneliness and poor quality of life), all with higher odds ratios than in living alone only and childlessness only.
Living alone only, childlessness only and/or both living alone and childlessness were associated with several poor mental health indicators and/or mortality. Enhanced screening and management of living alone and being childless may improve mental health in Thailand.
•Living alone only was among men associated with depressive symptoms, loneliness, poor quality of life and mortality.•Childlessness only was among women positively associated with four poor mental health indicators and mortality.•Both living alone and childlessness was among men associated with four poor mental health indicators.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Objective: We aimed to categorize the cooking status of older adults who live alone and examine its association with dietary intake since meal preparation is crucial for a healthy diet.Methods: The ...cross-sectional questionnaire-survey and 3-day dietary-record-based analysis from September to December 2013, included 135 older adults (60 men and 75 women) living alone in Sakado City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Cooking status (21 items) was categorized by cooking items assigned to each dish in the dietary records, and the frequency of each item in the 3-day record was determined using sex-stratified cluster analysis. Fisher's exact probability and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to compare the characteristics, nutrient intakes, dish intakes (serving SV) by meal category, days with well-balanced meals, and dietary variety score (DVS).Results: Among men, four cooking status types emerged; simmering and pickling (SP)(n = 6), simmering and using primary processed foods (SPF)(n = 20), stewing (n = 26), and purchasing ready-made meals (PRM)(n = 8). Among women, three types were identified; SP (n = 32), PRM (n = 10), and SPF (n = 33). Compared to other types, men in the SPF type had higher intakes of vegetable dishes (SV), milk and dairy products (SV), and calcium. They achieved DVS ≥4 and more well-balanced meal days than the stewing type. Among women, the SPF type had higher consumptions of fish and meat (SV) and dietary fiber than the other types and had more milk and dairy products (SV) and calcium than the SP type.Conclusion: SPF ensures diverse meals with more vitamins and minerals.
The number of older adults living alone has increased significantly. Depression is one of the significant mental health problems they face; classifying depressive conditions into homogeneous ...subgroups can help discover hidden information.
The data comes from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify depression subgroups among elderly living alone, Chi-square tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to univariate analysis, multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze the related factors.
1831 older adults living alone were identified and classified as low-level (30.4 %), moderate-level (55.3 %) and high-level (14.4 %). All variables, except age, were significant in the univariate analysis. Multinomial logistic regression showed that not participating in exercise, sometimes interacting with friends, anxiety symptoms, and impaired IADL were associated with the moderate- and high-level of depression in older adults living alone; good or fair self-rated health and life satisfaction were associated with the low-level of depression in older adults living alone. Anxiety symptoms were associated with high-level of depression in older adults living alone compared to moderate-level; good or fair self-rated health and life satisfaction were associated with moderate-level of depression in older adults living alone.
The CES-D-10 cannot fully determine the presence of depression in elderly people living alone at high-level.
In future primary health care, it would be more meaningful to provide targeted interventions for different subgroups of depression in older adults living alone.
•Increasing number of older adults living alone•Depression is a psychological problem they face.•Few studies focus on depression in older people living alone.•Latent profile analysis can distinguish subgroups and find hidden information.•Identification of relevant factors helps in the development of interventions.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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