ObjectiveTo explore the association between hearing loss and social frailty in a sample of Spanish older adults recruited from primary health care network.MethodCross-sectional study on a sample of 445 non-institutionalized adults aged 65 or more years (190 men and 255 women), recruited from primary care centers in Spain. Three self-reported hearing impairment questions were used to assess hearing loss. Social frailty was deemed to exist when the person presented two or more of the following conditions: living alone, absence of a person to provide help, infrequent contact with family, infrequent contact with friends, lack of confident and lack of help for daily activities in the last 3 months. To study the association between hearing loss and social frailty we used logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders, including physical frailty.ResultsThe mean age of participants was 76.2 years (77.5 years for women). More than half of the participants (54.4%) reported hearing loss and the frequency of social frailty was 23.2%. Hearing loss was associated with social frailty (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.78; 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 1.04-3.06). However, the association was sex-dependent (p for interaction = 0.041). In stratified analysis, the association was only found in women (aOR = 3.21; 95%CI: 1.44-7.17).ConclusionsHearing loss was associated with social frailty in women, but not in men. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this association and to understand the differential effect of gender. 相似文献
Objective: Associations between social networks and loneliness or social isolation are well established among older adults. Yet, limited research examines personal networks and participation on perceived loneliness and social isolation as distinct experiences among younger adults. Accordingly, we explore relationships among objective and subjective measures of personal networks with loneliness and isolation, comparing a younger and older cohort.
Methods: The UC Berkeley Social Networks Study offers unique cohort data on young (21–30 years old, n = 472) and late middle-age adults’ (50–70 years old, n = 637) personal network characteristics, social participation, network satisfaction, relationship status, and days lonely and isolated via online survey or in-person interview. Negative binomial regression models were used to examine associations between social network characteristics, loneliness, and isolation by age group.
Results: Young adults reported twice as many days lonely and isolated than late middle-age adults, despite, paradoxically, having larger networks. For young adults, informal social participation and weekly religious attendance were associated with fewer days isolated. Among late middle-age adults, number of close kin and relationship status were associated with loneliness. Network satisfaction was associated with fewer days lonely or isolated among both age groups.
Conclusion: Distinct network characteristics were associated with either loneliness or isolation for each cohort, suggesting network factors are independently associated with each outcome, and may fluctuate over time. Network satisfaction was associated with either loneliness or isolation among both cohorts, suggesting perceptions of social networks may be equally important as objective measures, and remain salient for loneliness and isolation throughout the life course. 相似文献