Department of Rehabilitation, Ichinomiya Medical Treatment & Habilitation Center, Ichinomiya, Japan; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Japan.
Department of Food Science, Nagoya Women's University, Nagoya, Japan; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Nutrition. 2021 Sep;89:111268. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2021.111268. Epub 2021 Apr 15.
The influence of living alone on multiple food and nutrition behaviors across a range of ages and genders has not been sufficiently investigated. Moreover, to our knowledge, no studies have described both dietary status and medical examination findings in persons living alone. Among individuals who attended a health checkup in a rural town in Japan, we investigated dietary habits and medical examination findings in persons living alone and those living with one or more other persons.
The participants in this investigation were 501 community-dwelling individuals aged 40 to 91 y (mean, 63.8 ± 9.9 y). Thirty-four (16.4%) of the 207 men and 45 (15.3%) of the 294 women lived alone. Dietary intake frequency of 28 types of foods and drinks, including various vegetables, fruits, meat, seafood, and dairy products, was investigated based on responses to a self-completed questionnaire. During the physical examination, body weight, body mass index, body fat percentage, and blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) were measured. Blood examination included red blood cell count, white blood cell count, platelet count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, total protein, albumin/globulin ratio, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, and serum calcium.
Multivariate analysis revealed that living alone independently was associated with a reduced intake frequency of various vegetables and seafood, especially in men. Diastolic blood pressure and triglyceride levels were significantly higher in men living alone than in men living with other persons. The albumin/globulin ratio in women living alone was significantly lower than in women living with other persons.
It was found that living alone was associated not only with a reduced quality of dietary intake but also with an unfavorable trend in some of the medical examination findings.
独居对不同年龄和性别人群多种食物和营养行为的影响尚未得到充分研究。此外，据我们所知，尚无研究描述独居者的饮食状况和体检结果。在日本一个农村城镇进行健康检查的人群中，我们调查了独居者和与一人或多人同住者的饮食习惯和体检结果。
本研究的参与者为 501 名年龄在 40 至 91 岁（平均 63.8±9.9 岁）的社区居民。207 名男性中有 34 人（16.4%）独居，294 名女性中有 45 人（15.3%）独居。基于自填问卷的回答，调查了 28 种食物和饮料的饮食摄入频率，包括各种蔬菜、水果、肉类、海鲜和乳制品。在体检中，测量了体重、体重指数、体脂百分比和血压（收缩压和舒张压）。血液检查包括红细胞计数、白细胞计数、血小板计数、血红蛋白、血细胞比容、总蛋白、白蛋白/球蛋白比值、总胆固醇、甘油三酯、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇、肌酐、血尿素氮、尿酸和血清钙。
多变量分析显示，独居与各种蔬菜和海鲜的摄入频率降低独立相关，尤其是男性。独居男性的舒张压和甘油三酯水平明显高于与他人同住的男性。独居女性的白蛋白/球蛋白比值明显低于与他人同住的女性。
研究发现，独居不仅与饮食质量下降有关，而且与某些体检结果的不利趋势有关。
