Aging Research Center, (Karolinska Institutet/Stockholm University), Stockholm, Sweden.
Center for Social and Demographic Analysis, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA.
J Epidemiol Community Health. 2018 Jan;72(1):1-6. doi: 10.1136/jech-2017-209614. Epub 2017 Oct 27.
Government policies to promote ageing in place have led to a growing frail population living at home in advanced old age, many of whom live alone. Living alone in old age is associated with adverse health outcomes, but we know little about whether it moderates the health impact of other risk and protective factors. Engagement in leisure activities is considered critical to successful ageing. We investigated whether the association between different types of leisure activities and survival in non-institutionalised older adults (aged 76 and above) differs by living arrangement and gender.
We used the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old study from 2011 and the Swedish Cause of Death Register (until 30 June 2014) to conduct Cox regression analyses (n=669). Incident mortality was 30.2% during the follow-up period.
Overall level of leisure activity was not significantly associated with survival in either living arrangement, but some specific leisure activities, and associations, were different across gender and living arrangement. More specifically, certain social activities (participation in organisations and having relatives visit) were associated with longer survival, but only in men living alone. In women, most results were statistically non-significant, with the exception of solving crosswords being associated with longer survival in women living with someone.
In order to facilitate engagement with life, interventions focusing on leisure activities in the oldest age groups should take gender and living arrangement into consideration when determining the type of activity most needed.
政府促进就地养老的政策导致越来越多的体弱老年人在高龄时独自居住在家里，其中许多人独居。老年人独居与健康状况不佳有关，但我们对其是否会缓和其他风险和保护因素对健康的影响知之甚少。参与休闲活动被认为是成功老龄化的关键。我们调查了不同类型的休闲活动与非机构化老年人（76 岁及以上）的生存之间的关联是否因居住安排和性别而异。
我们使用了瑞典老年生活条件面板研究（2011 年）和瑞典死因登记（截至 2014 年 6 月 30 日），进行了 Cox 回归分析（n=669）。随访期间的发生率死亡率为 30.2%。
在任何居住安排中，休闲活动的总体水平与生存均无显著关联，但某些特定的休闲活动及其关联在性别和居住安排上存在差异。更具体地说，某些社交活动（参加组织和亲属来访）与生存时间延长有关，但仅在独居男性中如此。在女性中，大多数结果在统计学上无显著意义，只有与他人同住的女性解决纵横字谜与生存时间延长有关。
为了促进参与生活，在确定最需要的活动类型时，针对最年长人群的休闲活动干预措施应考虑性别和居住安排。
