Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Behavioral and Biological Health Indicators in Older Adults
Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Behavioral and Biological Health Indicators in Older Adults
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DOI：
10.1037/a0022826
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发表时间：
2011-07-01
影响因子：
4.2
通讯作者：
Steptoe, Andrew
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Shankar, Aparna;McMunn, Anne;Steptoe, Andrew
目的：已经提出了一些社会孤立和孤独可能影响健康的机制，包括与健康有关的行为和生物因素。然而，目前还不清楚在多大程度上孤立和孤独是独立与这些途径。本分析的目的是确定社会隔离和孤独，单独以及同时，对健康相关的行为和生物因素的影响，使用的数据从英国老龄化纵向研究（艾尔莎）。方法：研究人员分析了8,688名参与者的健康行为（吸烟和体力活动）数据，并分析了其中5,000多名有资格接受护士访视和血液采样的参与者的血压、胆固醇和炎症标志物数据。孤独是用修订后的UCLA量表的缩写形式来衡量的，社会隔离指数的计算包括婚姻状况;与朋友、家人和孩子的接触频率;以及参与社会活动的情况。结果：不到2%的参与者报告说一直感到孤独，而近7%的人在社交孤立方面得分最高。社交孤立和孤独都与不活动、吸烟以及报告多种健康风险行为的风险更大有关。社会隔离也与血压、C反应蛋白和纤维蛋白原水平呈正相关。结论：孤独和社会隔离可能通过影响健康行为独立影响健康。此外，社会隔离也可能通过与心血管疾病发展相关的生物过程影响健康。
Objective: A number of mechanisms have been proposed through which social isolation and loneliness may affect health, including health-related behavioral and biological factors. However, it is unclear to what extent isolation and loneliness are independently associated with these pathways. The objective of the present analysis was to determine the impact of social isolation and loneliness, individually as well as simultaneously, on health-related behavioral and biological factors using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Method: Data on health behaviors (smoking and physical activity) were analyzed from 8,688 participants and data on blood pressure, cholesterol, and inflammatory markers were analyzed from over 5,000 of these participants who were eligible for a nurse visit and blood sampling. Loneliness was measured using the short form of the Revised UCLA scale and an index of social isolation was computed incorporating marital status; frequency of contact with friends, family, and children; and participation in social activities. Results: Fewer than 2% of participants reported being lonely all the time, while nearly 7% had the highest possible scores on social isolation. Both social isolation and loneliness were associated with a greater risk of being inactive, smoking, as well as reporting multiple health-risk behaviors. Social isolation was also positively associated with blood pressure, C-reactive protein, and fibrinogen levels. Conclusions: Loneliness and social isolation may affect health independently through their effects on health behaviors. In addition, social isolation may also affect health through biological processes associated with the development of cardiovascular disease.