Avlund Kirsten, Lund Rikke, Holstein Bjørn E, Due Pernille, Sakari-Rantala Ritva, Heikkinen Riitta-Liisa
Department of Social Medicine, Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2004 Jan;59(1):S44-51. doi: 10.1093/geronb/59.1.s44.
This study examines whether aspects of social relations at baseline are related to functional decline at 5-year follow-up among nondisabled old men and women.
The investigation is based on baseline and follow-up data on 651 nondisabled 75-year-old persons in Jyväskylä (Finland) and Glostrup (Denmark). The analyses are performed separately for men and women. Possible selection problems were considered by using three outcome measures: first, functional decline among the survivors (n = 425); second, functional decline, including death, assuming that death is part of a general decline pattern (n = 565); and third, mortality (n = 651). Social relations were measured at baseline by several items focusing on the structure and function of the social network.
In men, no weekly telephone contact was related to functional decline and mortality. Among women, less than weekly telephone contact, no membership in a retirement club, and not sewing for others were significantly related to functional decline and mortality. The associations were stronger when the dead were included in the outcome measure.
The results point to the importance of social relations in the prevention of functional decline in older adults.
本研究探讨基线时社会关系的各个方面是否与非残疾老年男性和女性在5年随访时的功能衰退有关。
该调查基于芬兰于韦斯屈莱和丹麦格罗斯特鲁普651名75岁非残疾人士的基线和随访数据。分析分别针对男性和女性进行。通过使用三种结果测量方法来考虑可能的选择问题：第一，幸存者中的功能衰退（n = 425）；第二，功能衰退，包括死亡，假设死亡是总体衰退模式的一部分（n = 565）；第三，死亡率（n = 651）。基线时通过几个关注社交网络结构和功能的项目来测量社会关系。
在男性中，没有每周电话联系与功能衰退和死亡率有关。在女性中，少于每周电话联系、没有退休俱乐部会员身份以及不为他人缝纫与功能衰退和死亡率显著相关。当将死亡者纳入结果测量时，这些关联更强。
结果表明社会关系在预防老年人功能衰退方面的重要性。
