Kaja Kristensen1, Hans-Helmut König1, André Hajek1. 1. Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the onset of multimorbidity with loneliness and social network size longitudinally. METHODS: Longitudinal data was used from the German Ageing Survey, a representative sample of adults aged 40 and over, residing in private households. The presence of two or more illnesses indicated multimorbidity. A 6-item version of the validated De Jong Gierveld Loneliness scale was used to assess perceived loneliness. The network size of respondents was represented by counts of important people in regular contact. Fixed-effects regressions adjusted for time-varying socio-demographic, life style, and health-related variables were used. RESULTS: The regression analysis yielded, when controlling for possible confounders, that the onset of multimorbidity led to increased loneliness (β = .06, p < .001). However, the results revealed as well that the onset of multimorbidity was associated with an increased network size (β = .29, p < .001). CONCLUSION: Results demonstrate a complex relationship of the variables examined. Efforts to target multimorbidity, eg, to postpone or prevent it, could be helpful to decrease loneliness.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the onset of multimorbidity with loneliness and social network size longitudinally. METHODS: Longitudinal data was used from the German Ageing Survey, a representative sample of adults aged 40 and over, residing in private households. The presence of two or more illnesses indicated multimorbidity. A 6-item version of the validated De Jong Gierveld Loneliness scale was used to assess perceived loneliness. The network size of respondents was represented by counts of important people in regular contact. Fixed-effects regressions adjusted for time-varying socio-demographic, life style, and health-related variables were used. RESULTS: The regression analysis yielded, when controlling for possible confounders, that the onset of multimorbidity led to increased loneliness (β = .06, p < .001). However, the results revealed as well that the onset of multimorbidity was associated with an increased network size (β = .29, p < .001). CONCLUSION: Results demonstrate a complex relationship of the variables examined. Efforts to target multimorbidity, eg, to postpone or prevent it, could be helpful to decrease loneliness.
Authors: Gregorio Bevilacqua; Karen A Jameson; Jean Zhang; Ilse Bloom; Nicholas R Fuggle; Harnish P Patel; Kate A Ward; Cyrus Cooper; Elaine M Dennison Journal: Aging Clin Exp Res Date: 2021-11-29 Impact factor: 3.636