Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, 600 S, Paulina, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA.
BMC Geriatr. 2010 Oct 22;10:77. doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-10-77.
Being alone, as measured by less frequent social interactions, has been reported to be associated with a more rapid rate of motor decline in older persons. We tested the hypothesis that feeling alone is associated with the rate of motor decline in community-dwelling older persons.
At baseline, loneliness was assessed with a 5-item scale in 985 persons without dementia participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a longitudinal community-based cohort study. Annual detailed assessment of 9 measures of muscle strength and 9 motor performances were summarized in a composite measure of global motor function.
Linear mixed-effects models which controlled for age, sex and education, showed that the level of loneliness at baseline was associated with the rate of motor decline (Estimate, -0.016; S.E. 0.006, p = 0.005). For each 1-point higher level of loneliness at baseline, motor decline was 40% more rapid; this effect was similar to the rate of motor decline observed in an average participant 4 years older at baseline. Furthermore, this amount of motor decline per year was associated with about a 50% increased risk of death. When terms for both feeling alone (loneliness) and being alone were considered together in a single model, both were relatively independent predictors of motor decline. The association between loneliness and motor decline persisted even after controlling for depressive symptoms, cognition, physical and cognitive activities, chronic conditions, as well as baseline disability or a history of stroke or Parkinson's disease.
Among community-dwelling older persons, both feeling alone and being alone are associated with more rapid motor decline, underscoring the importance of psychosocial factors and motor decline in old age.
社交互动较少（即独处）与老年人运动功能下降速度较快有关。我们检验了“孤独感与社区居住的老年人运动功能下降速度有关”这一假设。
在 Rush 记忆与衰老项目（一项基于社区的纵向队列研究）中，985 名无痴呆症的参与者在基线时使用 5 项量表评估孤独感。每年对 9 项肌肉力量测量指标和 9 项运动表现进行详细评估，将其汇总为一项综合的运动功能指标。
线性混合效应模型控制了年龄、性别和教育程度，结果显示基线时的孤独感水平与运动功能下降速度相关（估计值为-0.016；标准误为 0.006，p=0.005）。基线时孤独感每增加 1 分，运动功能下降速度就会加快 40%；这一效应与基线时年长 4 岁的参与者的运动功能下降速度相当。此外，每年这种程度的运动功能下降与死亡风险增加约 50%相关。当将“孤独感”和“独处”这两个术语同时纳入一个模型中考虑时，两者都是运动功能下降的相对独立预测因子。即使在控制了抑郁症状、认知、身体和认知活动、慢性疾病以及基线残疾或中风或帕金森病病史后，孤独感与运动功能下降之间的关联仍然存在。
在社区居住的老年人中，孤独感和独处都与运动功能下降速度较快有关，这突显了社会心理因素和老年运动功能下降的重要性。
