Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Department of Teacher Education, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Scand J Public Health. 2022 Dec;50(8):1097-1104. doi: 10.1177/14034948221117970. Epub 2022 Aug 25.
Loneliness is an important public health challenge for all ages. This study reports time trends of loneliness among adolescents over a 12-year period and analyses the strength of the associations between loneliness, health complaints, and medicine use.
Data were derived from the cross-sectional Finnish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study conducted in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018. The study population is based on a random sample of schools with 20,444 participants aged 11-15 years. The trends were analysed with a Mantel-Haenszel test, and the strength of the associations was evaluated by mixed-effects logistic and linear regressions.
An increasing prevalence in frequent loneliness (2006: 11%; 2018: 15%) was evident over the 12-year study period, especially in girls and 15-year-olds. Among all adolescents, loneliness was associated with a higher risk of recurrent health complaints and medicine use to treat the corresponding health issues, especially nervousness (odds ratio 5.8) and sleeping difficulties (odds ratio 7.6).
孤独是全年龄段人群面临的一项重要公共健康挑战。本研究报告了青少年在 12 年间孤独感的时间趋势，并分析了孤独感与健康问题主诉和用药之间关联的强度。
数据来自芬兰青少年健康行为的横断面研究，该研究于 2006 年、2010 年、2014 年和 2018 年进行。研究人群基于具有 20444 名 11-15 岁参与者的学校随机样本。采用 Mantel-Haenszel 检验分析趋势，采用混合效应逻辑回归和线性回归评估关联的强度。
在 12 年的研究期间，青少年中经常感到孤独的比例（2006 年：11%；2018 年：15%）明显增加，尤其是女孩和 15 岁的青少年。在所有青少年中，孤独感与更高的反复出现健康问题主诉和用药治疗相应健康问题的风险相关，尤其是神经质（比值比 5.8）和睡眠困难（比值比 7.6）。
