Lai-Yi Wong Eliza, Qiu Hong, Ho Kin-Fai, Wai-Ling Cheung Annie, Leung Hera, Chen Frank Youhua, Yeoh Eng-Kiong
Centre for Health Systems and Policy Research, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Heliyon. 2025 Jan 4;11(1):e41721. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41721. eCollection 2025 Jan 15.
The adverse health impacts of ambient temperature have been well-documented, encompassing not only the mortality and morbidity burden but also mood and mental health disorders. However, the relationship between temperature and social isolation remains unexplored. The objective of the current study was to investigate the potential associations between ambient temperature and social isolation among the aging population.
We took advantage of a cross-sectional survey conducted between January 2017 and November 2018 from a community service program special for older adults aged ≥60 who lived in a central community of Hong Kong. The personal social isolation was assessed by the validated Lubben Social Network Scale-6 (LSNS-6), with a score ranging from 0 to 30 and score of less than 12 indicating social isolation. The environmental exposures, including ambient temperature, sunshine hours, rainfalls, and air pollution, were obtained from the nearby monitoring stations. The association of ambient temperature with LSNS-6 score or social isolation was examined by the generalized linear models while adjusting the potential confounding from other environmental exposures and personal sociodemographic factors.
Among the 1616 participants, the distribution of LSNS-6 score was approximately normal and the mean score was a bit higher on cool days than on hot days (13.0 vs. 12.2). Compared with cool temperatures (14.4-19.5C), the independent effect estimates of hot ambient temperatures (24.5-28.7C) was associated with a 2.38 (95%CI: 1.63-3.13) decrease in LSNS-6 score. Meanwhile, we observed statistically significant associations of sunshine exposure, gender, health status, marital status, living alone, religion, and housing type with LSNS-6 score or social isolation.
Our study revealed a clear association between ambient cool temperatures and reduced social isolation, as well as association between hot temperatures and social isolation among older Chinese adults residing in the urban community of Hong Kong.
环境温度对健康的不利影响已有充分记录，不仅包括死亡率和发病率负担，还包括情绪和心理健康障碍。然而，温度与社会隔离之间的关系仍未得到探索。本研究的目的是调查老年人群中环境温度与社会隔离之间的潜在关联。
我们利用了2017年1月至2018年11月期间对居住在香港一个中心社区的60岁及以上老年人的社区服务项目进行的横断面调查。通过经过验证的鲁本社会网络量表-6（LSNS-6）评估个人社会隔离情况，得分范围为0至30分，得分低于12分表示社会隔离。环境暴露因素，包括环境温度、日照时长、降雨量和空气污染，来自附近的监测站。通过广义线性模型检验环境温度与LSNS-6得分或社会隔离之间的关联，同时调整其他环境暴露因素和个人社会人口学因素的潜在混杂影响。
在1616名参与者中，LSNS-6得分的分布大致呈正态分布，凉爽日子的平均得分略高于炎热日子（13.0对12.2）。与凉爽温度（14.4-19.5摄氏度）相比，炎热环境温度（24.5-28.7摄氏度）的独立效应估计与LSNS-6得分降低2.38（95%置信区间：1.63-3.13）相关。同时，我们观察到日照暴露、性别、健康状况、婚姻状况、独居、宗教信仰和住房类型与LSNS-6得分或社会隔离之间存在统计学显著关联。
我们的研究揭示了居住在香港城市社区的中国老年人中，环境凉爽温度与社会隔离减少之间存在明显关联，以及炎热温度与社会隔离之间的关联。
