Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2023 Jun;35(6):1377-1384. doi: 10.1007/s40520-023-02411-0. Epub 2023 Apr 26.
There is a complete lack of studies focusing on the association between care degree (reflecting the long-term care need) and loneliness or social isolation in Germany.
To investigate the association between care degree and loneliness as well as perceived social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We used data from the nationally representative German Ageing Survey, which covers community-dwelling middle-aged and older individuals aged 40 years or over. We used wave 8 of the German Ageing Survey (analytical sample: n = 4334 individuals, mean age was 68.9 years, SD: 10.2 years; range 46-100 years). To assess loneliness, the De Jong Gierveld instrument was used. To assess perceived social isolation, the Bude and Lantermann instrument was used. Moreover, the level of care was used as a key independent variable (absence of care degree (0); care degree 1-5).
After adjusting for various covariates, regressions showed that there were no significant differences between individuals without a care degree and individuals with a care degree of 1 or 2 in terms of loneliness and perceived social isolation. In contrast, individuals with a care degree of 3 or 4 had higher loneliness (β = 0.23, p = 0.034) and higher perceived social isolation scores (β = 0.38, p < 0.01) compared to individuals without a care degree.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: Care degrees of 3 or 4 are associated with higher levels of both loneliness and perceived social isolation. Longitudinal studies are required to confirm this association.
目前德国缺乏针对长期护理需求的照护程度与孤独或社会隔离之间关联的研究。
调查新冠疫情大流行期间照护程度与孤独及感知社会隔离之间的关联。
我们使用了具有全国代表性的德国老龄化调查的数据，该调查涵盖了居住在社区的中年及以上 40 岁及以上人群。我们使用了德国老龄化调查的第 8 波数据（分析样本：n=4334 人，平均年龄为 68.9 岁，标准差为 10.2 岁；年龄范围为 46-100 岁）。采用德容·吉弗尔德量表评估孤独感，采用布德和兰特曼量表评估感知社会隔离。此外，照护程度被用作关键的独立变量（无照护程度（0）；照护程度 1-5）。
在调整了各种协变量后，回归分析显示，在孤独感和感知社会隔离方面，无照护程度个体与照护程度为 1 或 2 的个体之间没有显著差异。相比之下，照护程度为 3 或 4 的个体孤独感更强（β=0.23，p=0.034），感知社会隔离得分更高（β=0.38，p<0.01），与无照护程度个体相比。
讨论/结论：照护程度为 3 或 4 与孤独感和感知社会隔离程度升高有关。需要进行纵向研究来证实这种关联。
