Delerue Matos Alice, Barbosa Fátima, Cunha Cláudia, Voss Gina, Correia Filipa
Department of Sociology, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
Communication and Society Research Centre, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
BMC Public Health. 2021 May 15;21(1):924. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10956-w.
Social isolation is a growing public health concern for older adults, as it has been associated with poor health and premature mortality. On the other hand, physical inactivity and an inadequate diet are important health risk behaviours associated with physical and mental health problems. Considering that there is no research examining the possible relationship between social isolation and the above mentioned health risk behaviours of European middle-aged and older adults, this cross-sectional study aims to contribute to filling this gap.
We used data from the SHARE project (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe), wave 6 (2015), release 7.0.0 (N = 67,173 individuals from 17 European countries plus Israel). Statistical tests for a two-group comparison were carried out to assess the differences between highly socially isolated individuals and low/intermediate socially isolated ones. Logistic regressions by country were performed to examine whether social isolation is associated with physical inactivity and an inadequate diet in the population aged 50 + .
Our results point out that, for the majority of the countries analysed, highly socially isolated individuals are more likely than low/intermediate isolated ones to be physically inactive and to consume less fruit or vegetables on a daily basis. In 9 European countries (Austria, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Belgium, Poland, Luxembourg and Estonia) highly socially isolated individuals are more likely to be physically inactive. On the other hand, in 14 European countries (Austria, Germany, Sweden, Italy, France, Denmark, Greece, Switzerland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Estonia and Croatia), high social isolation increases the likelihood of having an inadequate diet.
Highly socially isolated European middle-aged and older adults are more prone to be physically inactive and to have an inadequate diet in terms of daily consumption of fruit and vegetables. The reduced social integration, social support and companionship of the highly socially isolated individuals may explain this association. Our results reinforce the importance of social and health policies targeting highly socially isolated European individuals aged 50 + .
社会孤立是老年人日益关注的公共卫生问题，因为它与健康状况不佳和过早死亡有关。另一方面，缺乏身体活动和饮食不均衡是与身心健康问题相关的重要健康风险行为。鉴于尚无研究探讨欧洲中老年人的社会孤立与上述健康风险行为之间的可能关系，本横断面研究旨在填补这一空白。
我们使用了来自SHARE项目（欧洲健康、老龄化和退休调查）第6轮（2015年）、版本7.0.0的数据（来自17个欧洲国家加以色列的67173人）。进行两组比较的统计检验，以评估高度社会孤立个体与低度/中度社会孤立个体之间的差异。按国家进行逻辑回归，以检验社会孤立是否与50岁及以上人群的身体活动不足和饮食不均衡有关。
我们的结果指出，对于大多数分析的国家，高度社会孤立的个体比低度/中度孤立的个体更有可能缺乏身体活动，且每天食用的水果或蔬菜更少。在9个欧洲国家（奥地利、德国、瑞典、丹麦、希腊、比利时、波兰、卢森堡和爱沙尼亚），高度社会孤立的个体更有可能缺乏身体活动。另一方面，在14个欧洲国家（奥地利、德国、瑞典、意大利、法国、丹麦、希腊、瑞士、比利时、捷克共和国、卢森堡、斯洛文尼亚、爱沙尼亚和克罗地亚），高度社会孤立会增加饮食不均衡的可能性。
高度社会孤立的欧洲中老年人更容易缺乏身体活动，且在水果和蔬菜的日常摄入量方面饮食不均衡。高度社会孤立个体的社会融合、社会支持和陪伴减少可能解释了这种关联。我们的结果强化了针对50岁及以上高度社会孤立的欧洲个体的社会和健康政策的重要性。
