"Where are all the lonely people?" A population-based study of high-risk groups across the life span
"Where are all the lonely people?" A population-based study of high-risk groups across the life span
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DOI：
10.1007/s00127-016-1279-3
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发表时间：
2016-10-01
影响因子：
4.4
通讯作者：
Shevlin, Mark
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lasgaard, Mathias;Friis, Karina;Shevlin, Mark
孤独是一个普遍且紧迫的公共卫生问题。社区应对孤独问题的最佳规划需要对整个生命周期的孤独有不同的理解。我们通过探索多个年龄段的孤独感与社会人口统计和健康相关因素之间的关系，确定了孤独感高风险的群体。这是一项基于代表性样本的基于人群的问卷调查和登记数据研究相结合的研究，其中包括 33,285 名 16-102 岁的丹麦人。孤独感采用三项孤独感量表进行测量。孤独感与年龄的关系呈浅U型分布。少数民族身份、领取残疾养老金或失业、独居、长期精神障碍和精神治疗与严重孤独感密切相关。社会人口和健康相关因素与特定年龄组严重孤独感的风险增加有关。作为女性、教育水平较低和生活在贫困地区仅与青春期/成年初期的孤独感相关。另一方面，领取残疾养老金和独居（即离婚）与成年早期、中期和青年时期的孤独感密切相关。少数族裔身份、独居和长期精神障碍很可能是决定特定人群孤独感总体水平的关键因素。其他情况与特定年龄组的严重孤独感风险增加有关，并可能缓和年龄与孤独感的关系。这些发现可能有助于识别社区内面临孤独风险的人群，从而支持整个生命周期政策和公共卫生干预措施的实施。
Loneliness is a prevalent and urgent public health issue. Optimal planning of community approaches to loneliness requires a differentiated understanding of loneliness across the life span. We identified groups at high risk of loneliness by exploring the relationship between loneliness and socio-demographic and health-related factors across multiple age groups.This was a combined population-based questionnaire survey and register data study based on a representative sample, including 33,285 Danish individuals aged 16-102 years. Loneliness was measured using the Three-Item Loneliness Scale.The relation between loneliness and age took a shallow U-shaped distribution. Ethnic minority status, receiving disability pensions or being unemployed, living alone, prolonged mental disorder, and psychiatric treatment were strongly associated with severe loneliness. Socio-demographic and health-related factors were associated with an increased risk of severe loneliness in specific age groups. Being female, having a low educational level and living in a deprived area were only associated with loneliness in adolescence/emerging adulthood. Receiving disability pensions and living alone (i.e., divorced), on the other hand, were strongly associated with loneliness in early and middle adulthood and young-old age.Ethnic minority status, living alone, and prolonged mental disorder may well be key factors in determining the generic level of loneliness in a given population. Other conditions are associated with an increased risk of severe loneliness in specific age groups and may moderate the age-loneliness relation. These findings may help to identify populations within communities at risk of loneliness and thereby support the implementation of policies and public health interventions across the life span.