Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
Department of Psychiatry, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu, Korea.
J Korean Med Sci. 2023 Sep 11;38(36):e287. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e287.
Although it is known that a substantial proportion of the population experience loneliness, the consequence of loneliness remains unclear by countries and ages. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess the association between loneliness and suicidality in the general population of Korea.
A total of 5,511 Koreans aged 18-79 completed a tablet-assisted personal interview using the Korean version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and responded to questions about loneliness and lifetime suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts. A logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between loneliness and suicidality.
Approximately one-third of the Korean general population reported loneliness. Being older, never married, widowed, separated, or divorced, unemployed, and having a part-time job were all significantly related to loneliness. After adjusting for sociodemographic factors, individuals with loneliness were significantly associated with increased suicidal ideation (adjusted odd ratio [aOR], 4.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.36-4.88), suicidal plans (aOR, 4.91; 95% CI, 3.34-7.21), and suicidal attempts (aOR, 4.82; 95% CI, 3.03-7.66). Even after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and mental disorders, suicidality remained statistically significant. Moreover, frequent, moderate-to-severe, and long-term loneliness were all associated with increased ORs for suicidality, regardless of sociodemographic factors and mental disorders.
Loneliness was associated with suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts. This study lays the foundation for public health policymakers to establish early intervention and mental health care support for lonely people.
尽管已知相当一部分人会感到孤独，但孤独对不同国家和年龄段人群的影响仍不清楚。因此，本研究旨在评估韩国普通人群中孤独感与自杀意念之间的关系。
共有 5511 名 18-79 岁的韩国人使用韩国版综合国际诊断访谈，通过平板电脑辅助进行个人访谈，并回答了关于孤独感和终生自杀意念、计划和尝试的问题。使用逻辑回归分析来检验孤独感与自杀意念之间的关联。
约三分之一的韩国普通人群报告存在孤独感。年龄较大、从未结婚、丧偶、离异、分居、失业和从事兼职工作均与孤独感显著相关。在调整了社会人口因素后，孤独感个体与自杀意念（调整后的优势比 [aOR]，4.05；95%置信区间 [CI]，3.36-4.88）、自杀计划（aOR，4.91；95% CI，3.34-7.21）和自杀尝试（aOR，4.82；95% CI，3.03-7.66）显著相关。即使在调整了社会人口因素和精神障碍后，自杀意念仍然具有统计学意义。此外，无论是否存在社会人口因素和精神障碍，频繁、中度至重度和长期孤独感均与自杀意念的 OR 增加相关。
孤独感与自杀意念、计划和尝试有关。本研究为公共卫生政策制定者为孤独人群建立早期干预和精神卫生保健支持奠定了基础。
