Department of Social Sciences, University of Finland, Helsinki, Finland.
NOVA - Norwegian Social Research, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.
BMC Geriatr. 2024 May 24;24(1):459. doi: 10.1186/s12877-024-04967-6.
Later life loneliness has become a significant public health concern worldwide. Research has focused on the prevalence, risk factors and consequences of loneliness in different age groups. This study aimed to advance the understanding of the impact of early-life circumstances on later life loneliness by examining the associations between adversities in childhood and youth and loneliness trajectories in Finnish older adults.
The data were derived from the 10-year follow-up survey study Good Aging in the Lahti Region (n = 1552, mean age 64.89 years). The baseline study was conducted in 2002 with a regionally and locally stratified random sample of older persons living in the Lahti Region located in southern Finland. The follow-up surveys were carried out in 2005, 2008 and 2012. Loneliness was measured using a single question at the three follow-ups. Childhood conditions were retrospectively assessed at baseline with questions regarding the death of parents, household affection, relocation, and fear of a family member. Latent class growth analysis with time invariant covariates was used to identify loneliness trajectories and to examine the associations between loneliness trajectories and adverse circumstances in childhood and youth.
The results identified three distinct loneliness trajectories: low, moderate, and severe, including 36%, 50% and 14%, respectively, of the study population. The non-significant slopes of the three trajectories indicate that trajectories were stable during the seven years of follow-up. Being afraid of a family member, having a cold childhood, and death of a father or mother in childhood or youth significantly increased the odds of having a severe loneliness trajectory as compared to low loneliness trajectory. None of the early-life circumstances differentiated between severe and moderate levels of loneliness.
The findings suggest that some adverse early-life circumstances increase the odds of an unfavorable loneliness trajectory in later life. The results highlight the need to recognize the role of diverse life-course adversities in loneliness research and interventions. The study also underscores the importance of identifying individuals who are at risk of long-term and severe loneliness and providing them with appropriate support to decrease and/or prevent the negative health consequences of loneliness in old age.
晚年孤独已成为全球一个重大的公共卫生问题。研究集中于不同年龄组的孤独感的流行率、风险因素和后果。本研究旨在通过考察童年和青年时期的逆境与芬兰老年人群孤独感轨迹之间的关联，增进对早年生活环境对晚年孤独感影响的理解。
数据来自 10 年随访研究“拉赫蒂地区良好老龄化研究”（n=1552，平均年龄 64.89 岁）。该基线研究于 2002 年进行，采用芬兰南部拉赫蒂地区分层随机抽样方法抽取居住在该地区的老年人作为样本。在 2005 年、2008 年和 2012 年进行了随访调查。在三次随访中均使用一个问题测量孤独感。童年状况在基线时通过询问父母去世、家庭亲情、搬迁和对家庭成员的恐惧等问题进行回顾性评估。使用具有时间不变协变量的潜在类别增长分析来识别孤独感轨迹，并探讨孤独感轨迹与童年和青年时期的逆境之间的关联。
研究结果确定了三种不同的孤独感轨迹：低度、中度和高度，分别占研究人群的 36%、50%和 14%。三个轨迹的非显著斜率表明，在七年的随访期间，轨迹是稳定的。与低度孤独轨迹相比，童年时害怕家庭成员、童年时经历冷淡的家庭生活以及父母在童年或青年时期去世，显著增加了出现高度孤独轨迹的可能性。童年时期的任何逆境都不能区分高度和中度孤独感水平。
研究结果表明，一些不利的早年生活环境增加了晚年不利孤独感轨迹的可能性。研究结果强调了在孤独感研究和干预中认识到不同生命历程逆境作用的必要性。该研究还突出了识别处于长期和严重孤独风险中的个体并为其提供适当支持以减少和/或预防老年期孤独感对健康产生负面影响的重要性。
