Maas Tijmen, Herber Gerrie-Cor, Verschuren W M Monique, Picavet H Susan J
Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Netherlands.
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Netherlands.
J Epidemiol Community Health. 2025 Jul 10;79(8):625-630. doi: 10.1136/jech-2024-222099.
Both loneliness and mental health represent important public health themes with stable or even worsening population figures. The association between loneliness and mental health is cross-sectionally well-established, but longitudinal studies are scarce. The aim of this study is to explore the individual changes in loneliness and mental health and the relation between these changes.
We used data from wave 5 (years: 2007-2012, n: 4016) and wave 6 (years: 2013-2017, n: 3437) of the Doetinchem Cohort Study, consisting of participants aged 41-86 years. Loneliness was measured using the De Jong-Gierveld 6-item Loneliness Scale and mental health was measured with the 5-item Mental Health Inventory. We assessed changes in loneliness and mental health over a 5-year period. Generalised estimating equations and linear regression were performed to determine the longitudinal association. Associations were adjusted for various sociodemographic, lifestyle and health factors.
Over a 5-year period, 23.4% experienced a change in loneliness and 9.7% in mental health.Higher levels of loneliness were significantly associated with poor mental health both cross-sectionally and over time (β:-3.56, 95% CI: -3.79 to -3.32). Increasing feelings of loneliness were associated with worsening mental health, and decreasing feelings of loneliness were associated with improving mental health (β:-2.35, 95% CI: -2.61 to -2.08).
The high rate of individual changes in loneliness, combined with the association between changes in loneliness and changes in mental health, shows a possible potential in improving poor mental health by designing public health interventions aimed at reducing feelings of loneliness.
孤独和心理健康都是重要的公共卫生主题，相关人群数据呈稳定甚至恶化趋势。孤独与心理健康之间的关联在横断面研究中已得到充分证实，但纵向研究却很匮乏。本研究旨在探讨孤独感和心理健康的个体变化情况以及这些变化之间的关系。
我们使用了多廷赫姆队列研究第5波（时间：2007 - 2012年，n = 4016）和第6波（时间：2013 - 2017年，n = 3437）的数据，研究对象为41 - 86岁的参与者。使用德容 - 吉尔维尔德6项孤独感量表测量孤独感，用5项心理健康量表测量心理健康状况。我们评估了5年间孤独感和心理健康的变化。采用广义估计方程和线性回归来确定纵向关联。对各种社会人口学、生活方式和健康因素进行了校正。
在5年期间，23.4%的人孤独感发生了变化，9.7%的人心理健康状况发生了变化。无论是在横断面研究还是随时间推移，较高的孤独感水平都与较差的心理健康显著相关（β = -3.56，95%置信区间：-3.79至-3.32）。孤独感增加与心理健康状况恶化相关，孤独感降低与心理健康状况改善相关（β = -2.
