Loneliness and health-related quality of life for the empty nest elderly in the rural area of a mountainous county in China

被引:198
作者
Liu, Li-Juan [1 ]
Guo, Qiang [1 ]
机构
[1] Second Mil Med Univ, Training Dept, Shanghai 200433, Peoples R China
关键词
aged; loneliness; quality of life; social support;
D O I
10.1007/s11136-007-9250-0
中图分类号
R19 [保健组织与事业(卫生事业管理)];
学科分类号
摘要
Objective To estimate whether loneliness was associated with quality of life and examined the influence of socio-economic factors in the empty nest elderly. Methods The 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS) were used to assess the quality of life and loneliness for 275 empty nest and 315 not empty nest rural elders in a county, China. T tests, Pearson's correlations and linear regression analysis were used to examine the difference in SF-36 and UCLA-LS scores, correlations of the two scores between the two groups, and socio-economic determinants of loneliness among the empty nest elders. Results Empty nest group, in comparison with not empty nest group, had higher level of loneliness (95% confidence interval [CI] = -3.361 to -.335), lower physical (95% CI = .228 to 6.044) and mental (95% CI = .866 to 6.380) scores. Loneliness was negatively correlated with all the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey scales in both groups. Social supports and income were negatively associated with loneliness, whereas education level and being single were positively associated with loneliness for the empty nest group. Coclusions Reducing the level of loneliness may be helpful to improve the quality of life for the empty nest elders.
引用
收藏
页码:1275 / 1280
页数:6
相关论文
共 22 条
  • [1] Loneliness as a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses
    Cacioppo, JT
    Hughes, ME
    Waite, LJ
    Hawkley, LC
    Thisted, RA
    [J]. PSYCHOLOGY AND AGING, 2006, 21 (01) : 140 - 151
  • [2] Campbell V A, 1999, MMWR CDC Surveill Summ, V48, P131
  • [3] Relationship specialization amongst sources and receivers of social support and its correlations with loneliness and subjective well-being: A cross sectional study of Nepalese older adults
    Chalise, Hom Nath
    Saito, Tami
    Takahashi, Miyako
    Kai, Ichiro
    [J]. ARCHIVES OF GERONTOLOGY AND GERIATRICS, 2007, 44 (03) : 299 - 314
  • [4] A survey of quality of life and depression for police officers in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    Chen, Hsiu-Chao
    Chou, Frank Huang-Chih
    Chen, Ming-Chao
    Su, Shu-Fang
    Wang, Shing-Yaw
    Feng, Wen-Wei
    Chen, Pei-Chun
    Lai, Juin-Yang
    Chao, Shin-Shin
    Yang, Shiow-Lan
    Tsai, Tung-Chieh
    Tsai, Kuan-Yi
    Lin, Kung-Shih
    Lee, Chun-Ying
    Wu, Hung-Chi
    [J]. QUALITY OF LIFE RESEARCH, 2006, 15 (05) : 925 - 932
  • [5] DENES Z, 1980, Zeitschrift fuer Alternsforschung, V35, P475
  • [6] Doci I, 2003, Cas Lek Cesk, V142, P505
  • [7] FAHRENBERG B, 1986, Z GERONTOL, V19, P323
  • [8] Rural-urban differences in health and health behaviour:: A baseline description of a community health-promotion programme for the elderly
    Fogelholm, Mikael
    Valve, Raisa
    Absetz, Pilvikki
    Heinonen, Heikki
    Uutela, Antti
    Patja, Kristiina
    Karisto, Antti
    Konttinen, Riikka
    Makela, Tiina
    Nissinen, Aulikki
    Jallinoja, Piia
    Nummela, Olli
    Talja, Martti
    [J]. SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, 2006, 34 (06) : 632 - 640
  • [9] Loneliness, fear, and quality of life among elderly in Sweden: a gender perspective
    Jakobsson, U
    Hallberg, IR
    [J]. AGING CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH, 2005, 17 (06) : 494 - 501
  • [10] Old age and loneliness:: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses in the tampere longitudinal study on aging
    Jylhä, M
    [J]. CANADIAN JOURNAL ON AGING-REVUE CANADIENNE DU VIEILLISSEMENT, 2004, 23 (02): : 157 - 168