Department of Social Science, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan; Department of Public Health, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Aichi, Japan.
Department of Physical Therapy, Shinshu University School of Health Sciences, Nagano, Japan.
Public Health. 2021 May;194:25-28. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.02.016. Epub 2021 Apr 10.
We examined the association between living alone and mental health and the moderating effects of face-to-face and non-face-to-face social contacts, among community-dwelling older adults.
Cross-sectional study.
This cross-sectional study recruited Japanese adults older than 60 years, who attended health check-ups held in a suburban town hall in July and August of 2018 and 2019. As mental health outcomes, depression was assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale 15-items, loneliness was assessed using the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale 3-items, and happiness was self-rated on a 10-point scale. Face-to-face social contacts were evaluated by participants' frequency of meetings with relatives or friends, whereas non-face-to-face contacts were measured by the frequency of interactions via letter, telephone or e-mail. Multivariable linear regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between living alone with each mental health outcome and the effect modifications of having face-to-face and non-face-to-face social contacts.
Data from 300 older adults were analysed. The participants' mean age was 73.0 years, 51.3% were female, and 16.0% lived alone. Living alone was significantly associated with poorer mental health. Regarding loneliness and low happiness, having face-to-face and non-face-to-face contacts more than once a week alleviated the adverse association of living alone (loneliness: face-to-face contacts, P = 0.020; non-face-to-face contacts, P = 0.028; happiness: face-to-face contacts, P = 0.020; non-face-to-face contacts, P = 0.001).
Our findings suggest that non-face-to-face, as well as face-to-face social contacts have a moderating effect on the adverse association of living alone with loneliness and happiness.
本研究旨在探讨独居与老年人心理健康之间的关系，并分析面对面和非面对面社交接触的调节作用。
横断面研究。
本横断面研究于 2018 年 7 月至 8 月和 2019 年在一个郊区市政厅进行健康检查时招募了年龄在 60 岁以上的日本成年人。采用 15 项老年抑郁量表评估抑郁，采用加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校的 3 项孤独量表评估孤独感，采用 10 分制评估幸福感。面对面社交接触由参与者与亲戚或朋友的会面频率评估，而非面对面社交接触由信件、电话或电子邮件交流频率测量。采用多变量线性回归分析来检验独居与每种心理健康结果之间的关系，以及面对面和非面对面社交接触的调节作用。
共分析了 300 名老年人的数据。参与者的平均年龄为 73.0 岁，51.3%为女性，16.0%独居。独居与心理健康较差显著相关。对于孤独感和幸福感较低，每周与他人进行面对面和非面对面接触一次以上可以减轻独居对孤独感和幸福感的不利影响（孤独感：面对面接触，P=0.020；非面对面接触，P=0.028；幸福感：面对面接触，P=0.020；非面对面接触，P=0.001）。
本研究结果表明，非面对面以及面对面社交接触对独居与孤独感和幸福感之间的负向关联具有调节作用。
