Loneliness Among US Adults Aged ≥55 Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic Findings From the COVID-19 Coping Study
Loneliness Among US Adults Aged ≥55 Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic Findings From the COVID-19 Coping Study
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DOI：
10.1177/00333549211029965
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发表时间：
2021-07-20
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
Kobayashi, Lindsay C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
O'Shea, Brendan Q.;Finlay, Jessica M.;Kobayashi, Lindsay C.
目的孤独感与中老年人不良健康结局的风险增加有关。在美国新冠肺炎大流行的早期阶段，我们估计了孤独的流行率，并确定了55岁成年人孤独的关键社会人口、就业、生活和健康相关风险因素，当时美国大部分地区都处于就地避难状态。方法我们从《新冠肺炎应对研究》的在线问卷中收集数据，该研究是一项全国性的研究，从2020年4月2日至5月31日对6,938名55岁的美国成年人进行了调查。我们估计了总体和社会人口、就业、生活和健康相关因素的人口加权孤独流行率(在加州大学洛杉矶分校3个项目的孤独量表上得分=6分)。我们使用人口加权修正泊松回归模型来估计患病率(PR)和这些因素与孤独感之间的关联的95%CI，并对年龄、性别、种族、民族和教育水平进行了调整。结果总体而言，我们估计，在2020年4月和5月，年龄>；=55的美国成年人中有29.5%(95%可信区间，27.9%~31.3%)被认为是高度孤独的。在人口加权调整的模型中，孤独感在报告抑郁的人、未婚或有恋人的人、独居的人和大流行开始时失业的人中最普遍。结论我们确定了在美国大部分地区实施新冠肺炎就地安置令期间，易受孤独影响的中老年人群。这些见解可能有助于在限制活动期间分配资源以减轻意外的健康后果。
Objectives Loneliness is associated with increased risks of adverse health outcomes among middle-aged and older adults. We estimated the prevalence of loneliness and identified key sociodemographic, employment, living, and health-related risk factors for loneliness among adults aged >= 55 during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, when much of the country was under shelter-in-place orders. Methods We collected data from online questionnaires in the COVID-19 Coping Study, a national study of 6938 US adults aged >= 55 from April 2 through May 31, 2020. We estimated the population-weighted prevalence of loneliness (scores >= 6 of 9 on the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale), overall and by sociodemographic, employment, living, and health-related factors. We used population-weighted modified Poisson regression models to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% CIs for the associations between these factors and loneliness, adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, and education level. Results Overall, we estimated that 29.5% (95% CI, 27.9%31.3%) of US adults aged >= 55 were considered high in loneliness in April and May 2020. In population-weighted adjusted models, loneliness was the most prevalent among those who reported depression, who were not married or in a relationship, who lived alone, and who were unemployed at the onset of the pandemic. Conclusions We identified subpopulations of middle-aged and older adults who were vulnerable to loneliness during a period when COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders were in place across most of the country. These insights may inform the allocation of resources to mitigate an unintended health consequence during times of restricted activity.