Influence of loneliness burden on cardio-cerebral vascular disease among the Chinese older adult: a national cohort study.

BACKGROUND

Adverse psychosocial factors play an important role in cardio-cerebral vascular disease (CCVD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the cumulative burden of loneliness on the risk of CCVD in the Chinese older adult.

METHODS

A total of 6,181 Chinese older adult over the age of 62 in the monitoring survey of the fourth Sample Survey of the Aged Population in Urban and Rural China (SSAPUR) were included in this study. The loneliness cumulative burden (scored by cumulative degree) was weighted by the loneliness score for two consecutive years (2017-2018) and divided into low- and high-burden groups. The outcome was defined as the incidence of CCVD 1 year later (2018-2019). A multivariate logistic regression model was used to examine the relationship between the cumulative burden of loneliness and the new onset of CCVD.

RESULTS

Among participants, 18.9% had a higher cumulative burden of loneliness, and 11.5% had a CCVD incidence within 1 year. After multivariate adjustment, the risk of developing CCVD in the high-burden group was approximately 37% higher than that in the low-burden group (OR 1.373, 95%CI 1.096-1.721;  = 0.006). Similar results were obtained when calculating the burden based on cumulative time. Longitudinal change in loneliness was not significantly associated with an increased risk of CCVD. A higher cumulative burden of loneliness may predict a higher risk of developing CCVD in older adult individuals aged 62-72 years or in those with diabetes.

CONCLUSION

The cumulative burden of loneliness can be used to assess the risk of new-onset CCVD in the older adult in the short term.