Mafla-España Mayra Alejandra, Corchón Silvia, Jimeno-de Pedro Paula, Ibáñez-Del Valle Vanessa, Cauli Omar
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Podiatry, University of Valencia, C/de Méndez y Pelayo, 19, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
Frailty Research Organized Group (FROG), University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
Nurs Rep. 2024 Nov 29;14(4):3737-3753. doi: 10.3390/nursrep14040273.
: Loneliness in older people, especially those living in rural areas, is a phenomenon that has received little attention in research and can have detrimental effects on quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate loneliness and the psychosocial factors associated with loneliness in rural Spain, which have been minimally studied. : A cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of permanently resident older people in the region (Valencia, Spain), a geographic area with very low population density. Emotional and social loneliness were assessed using the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. We also assessed whether loneliness is associated with sleep quality, depressive symptoms, and autonomy in basic and instrumental activities of daily living. : A total of 108 community-dwelling individuals aged 65 years and older participated in the study out of a total sample of 181. Of them, 30.6% experienced feelings of moderate loneliness, while 2.8% presented severe loneliness. A significant correlation was found between loneliness and age (Rho = 0.28, = 0.003). Significant differences were also observed between emotional loneliness and gender ( = 0.03) but not between social loneliness and the total score on the de Jong Gierveld Scale. Men experienced more emotional loneliness than women. In the multivariate analyses, significant associations were found between the degree of loneliness and having sons/daughters ( = 0.03; odds ratio [OR] = 0.24; 95% CI 0.06-0.89) and the role of caring for a dependent person ( = 0.002; odds ratio [OR] = 0.05; 95% CI 0.009-0.36) but not living with sons/daughters or the presence of grandchildren. : There is a high prevalence of loneliness among older people living in rural areas, which is associated with some social factors. Therefore, nursing care plans should include assessments and interventions to prevent or detect and address loneliness in older people. This study was retrospectively registered in ClinicalTrials on 24 April 2024 with registration number NCT06382181.
老年人的孤独感，尤其是那些生活在农村地区的老年人，是一种在研究中很少受到关注的现象，并且可能对生活质量产生不利影响。本研究的目的是评估西班牙农村地区的孤独感以及与孤独感相关的社会心理因素，这些因素此前研究极少。
在该地区（西班牙巴伦西亚）常住人口中的老年人样本中开展了一项横断面研究，该地区人口密度极低。使用德容·吉尔维尔德孤独量表评估情感孤独和社交孤独。我们还评估了孤独感是否与睡眠质量、抑郁症状以及日常生活基本和工具性活动中的自主性相关。
在181人的总样本中，共有108名65岁及以上的社区居住个体参与了研究。其中，30.6%的人有中度孤独感，而2.8%的人有严重孤独感。孤独感与年龄之间存在显著相关性（Rho = 0.28，P = 0.003）。情感孤独与性别之间也观察到显著差异（P = 0.03），但社交孤独与德容·吉尔维尔德量表总分之间没有差异。男性比女性经历更多的情感孤独。在多变量分析中，孤独程度与有子女（P = 0.03；优势比[OR] = 0.24；95%置信区间0.06 - 0.89）以及照顾依赖者的角色（P = 0.002；优势比[OR] = 0.05；95%置信区间0.009 - 0.36）之间存在显著关联，但与是否与子女同住或是否有孙辈无关。
生活在农村地区的老年人中孤独感的患病率很高，这与一些社会因素有关。因此，护理计划应包括评估和干预措施，以预防或检测并解决老年人的孤独感。本研究于2024年4月24日在临床试验中进行回顾性注册，注册号为NCT06382181。
