Kexin Yu, Chao-Yi Wu, Lisa L. Barnes, Lisa C. Silbert, Zachary Beattie, Raina Croff, Lyndsey Miller, Hiroko H. Dodge, Jeffrey A. Kaye
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Life-space mobility can be a behavioral indicator of loneliness. This study examined the association between life-space mobility measured with motion sensors and weekly vs. annually reported loneliness.
Methods
Participants were older adults who lived alone. Passive infrared motion sensors were placed in the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and living room. Time spent in each room and out-of-home across the day was derived and used as the measure of life-space mobility. Participants reported via weekly questionnaires whether they felt lonely. In annual visits, the UCLA loneliness scale was administered to a subsample (n = 71), and the scores were categorized into high, moderate, and low groups. We used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to correlate life-space mobility with weekly and yearly loneliness. Repeated observations from each individual were bootstrapped for 1000 rounds to associate annual and weekly loneliness measures.
Results
We analyzed 4995 weeks of data from 139 participants (age = 78.1 ± 8.6, 74% female, 23% African Americans, 14% with MCI diagnosis). An additional hour in the bedroom in the afternoon was associated with a 21.4% increased odds (OR = 1.214, p = 0.049) of experiencing loneliness in the week. An additional hour out-of-home in the morning and in the afternoon was associated with 18.2% (OR = 0.818, p = 0.040) and 15.3% (OR = 0.847, p = 0.018) fewer odds of experiencing weekly loneliness. In the subsample with annual loneliness assessments, an additional hour out-of-home was associated with 38.1% (OR = 0.619, p = 0.006) fewer odds of being in the high UCLA loneliness group. Compared with the low UCLA group, those with high UCLA scores were five times more likely to report loneliness weekly (OR = 5.260, p = 0.0004).
Conclusions
Frequent and objective measurements of mobility combined with self-reported social wellbeing information can offer new insights into the experience of loneliness and provide opportunities for timely interventions.
期刊介绍:
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) is the go-to journal for clinical aging research. We provide a diverse, interprofessional community of healthcare professionals with the latest insights on geriatrics education, clinical practice, and public policy—all supporting the high-quality, person-centered care essential to our well-being as we age. Since the publication of our first edition in 1953, JAGS has remained one of the oldest and most impactful journals dedicated exclusively to gerontology and geriatrics.