Department of Nursing, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju 26426, Korea.
Department of Health Care Policy Research, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, Sejong-si 30146, Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jul 28;19(15):9246. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159246.
Social isolation and loneliness are the key risk factors for depression in late life. Older adults living alone and socially isolated are at greater risk for physical and mental health. This study aims to examine the mediating effects of subjective physical health, resilience, and social support on the association between loneliness and depression among the elderly female population living alone in South Korea. We included a total of 308 older women aged 60 years or older who live alone in a medium-sized city in South Korea. The survey data was collected using the validated survey instruments between November 2015 and April 2016. A parallel mediation model was performed to investigate whether physical health, resilience, and social support had mediating effects on the association of loneliness with depression. The findings of this study showed that loneliness was directly and indirectly associated with depression through its association with the subjective physical health, resilience, and social support among the older female population living alone. Our results suggest the importance of supporting community-based programs to improve physical and mental health of the elderly people as a way to minimize the level of loneliness and prevent depression.
社会隔离和孤独是老年人抑郁的关键风险因素。独居和社会隔离的老年人更有可能出现身心健康问题。本研究旨在探讨主观身体健康、韧性和社会支持在韩国独居老年女性人群中孤独感与抑郁之间的关联中的中介作用。我们共纳入了 308 名年龄在 60 岁及以上、独自居住在韩国一个中等城市的老年女性。调查数据于 2015 年 11 月至 2016 年 4 月期间使用经过验证的调查工具收集。采用平行中介模型来探讨身体健康、韧性和社会支持是否对孤独感与抑郁之间的关联具有中介作用。本研究结果表明，孤独感通过与独居老年女性人群的主观身体健康、韧性和社会支持相关联，直接和间接地与抑郁相关。我们的研究结果表明，支持以社区为基础的项目来改善老年人的身心健康对于减轻孤独感和预防抑郁至关重要。
