Public Health, School of Health and Related Research, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 23;19(23):15544. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192315544.
The WHO has stated that the number of senior citizens above age 65 across the world will double by the year 2050: in the UK, the whole population is projected to grow by about 2.5% over a decade, from mid-2018. Although people are living longer, they are not healthier in old age, and there is an increasing number of illnesses and disabilities in the ageing population, which have an impact on their overall well-being and quality of life (QoL). Alongside these trends, Internet technologies have improved and provide a wide range of information, including on medical and health issues. This study aimed to examine the association between the utilisation of the internet among older people in England and their QoL. This study utilised the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), a longitudinal study of a representative sample of people aged 50 and over in England. The data from Wave 9 were analysed using bivariate analysis and logistic regression. The results show a strong association between QoL and utilisation of the Internet in older people, even when adjusting for demographic variables and health. Higher use of the internet was associated with older people being less likely to have higher QoL. The excessive use of the internet for communication and gathering information also contributed to lower QoL. From the findings, poorer QoL was also found in people in older age groups, in those who are married, and those who never suffer from chronic diseases. Our findings suggest that the quality of life in older people might not only be associated with the frequency of usage but also the purpose for which the internet is used; however, this relationship is complex and further research should explore this in greater depth. Further research should also investigate how older people's use of the Internet changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of this on the QoL in older age.
世界卫生组织（WHO）表示，到 2050 年，全球 65 岁以上的老年人数量将翻一番：在英国，预计在未来十年内，人口将增长约 2.5%，截至 2018 年年中。尽管人们的寿命越来越长，但在老年时并不健康，老年人口中有越来越多的疾病和残疾，这对他们的整体健康和生活质量（QoL）产生影响。随着这些趋势的发展，互联网技术得到了改善，并提供了广泛的信息，包括医疗和健康问题。本研究旨在探讨英格兰老年人使用互联网与生活质量之间的关联。本研究利用了英国老龄化纵向研究（ELSA），这是一项对英格兰 50 岁及以上人群的代表性样本进行的纵向研究。使用二元分析和逻辑回归对第 9 波数据进行了分析。结果表明，生活质量与老年人使用互联网之间存在很强的关联，即使在调整了人口统计学变量和健康状况后也是如此。更多地使用互联网与老年人生活质量较高的可能性降低有关。过度使用互联网进行沟通和获取信息也会导致生活质量降低。从研究结果来看，年龄较大的人群、已婚人群以及从未患有慢性疾病的人群的生活质量较差。我们的研究结果表明，老年人的生活质量可能不仅与使用频率有关，还与互联网的使用目的有关；然而，这种关系很复杂，应该进一步研究以更深入地探讨这个问题。进一步的研究还应调查老年人在 COVID-19 大流行期间对互联网的使用方式发生了怎样的变化，以及这种变化对老年人口的生活质量产生了怎样的影响。
