Table 3 Sociodemographic and Health-related Characteristics of Participants in the Four Loneliness and Isolated Living Status Groups
aNeither Lonely, nor Isolated (N=438) | bNot Lonely, but Isolated (N=100) | cLonely, but Not Isolated (N=49) | dLonely and Isolated (N=42) | F or χ2 | Pairwise comparisons among means | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age | 65.0±7.2 | 69.2±7.0 | 66.2±7.1 | 69.1±6.8 | 12.2*** | a<b, a<d |
Sex | 30.5*** | |||||
Male | 287(65.5) | 39(39) | 27(55.1) | 17(40.5) | ||
Female | 151(34.5) | 61(61) | 22(44.9) | 25(59.5) | ||
Education | 20.8 | |||||
No schooling | 97(22.2) | 29(29) | 20(40.8) | 16(38.1) | ||
Elementary (<6 years) | 195(44.5) | 46(46) | 17(34.7) | 20(47.6) | ||
Junior High (7-9 years) | 53(12.1) | 10(10) | 2(4.1) | 3(7.1) | ||
Senior High (9-12 years) | 50(11.4) | 11(11) | 6(12.2) | 2(4.8) | ||
College (>12 years) | 43(9.8) | 4(4) | 4(8.2) | 1(2.4) | ||
Comorbidity+ | 0.8±0.9 | 0.9±1.0 | 1.1±1.1 | 1.2±1.2 | 4.3*** | a<d |
Loneliness2006 | ||||||
Yes | 43(9.8) | 17(17.0) | 10(20.4) | 17(40.5) | ||
No | 395(90.2) | 83(83.0) | 39(79.6) | 25(59.5) | ||
Isolated living status2006 | ||||||
Yes | 39(8.9) | 99(99.0) | 10(20.4) | 41(97.6) | ||
No | 399(91.1) | 1(1.0) | 39(79.6) | 1(2.4) | ||
Perceived Stress Scale | 8.6±5.9 | 8.6±6.9 | 13.4±7.1 | 11.5±7.7 | 9.1*** | b<c, d<c |
Stress-related Biomarkers | ||||||
Cortisol levels2000 | 21.2±20.4 | 16.6±13.3 | 18.3±10.6 | 12.7±7.9 | 4.2** | a>d |
Cortisol levels2006 | 11.9±15.7 | 9.2±13.2 | 21.1±26.7 | 10.1±23.6 | 4.2** | a<c, b<c |
IL-6 levels2000 | 2.9±3.3 | 2.9±2.4 | 2.7±2.7 | 3.7±4.7 | 0.8 | |
IL-6 levels2006 | 3.7±5.3 | 3.9±4.3 | 6.6±11.2 | 5.1±7.4 | 3.5* | a<c |
hsCRP2000 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
hsCRP2006 | 0.3±0.5 | 0.3±0.5 | 0.8±1.6 | 0.3±0.3 | 7.67*** | a<c, b<c, d<c |
Depression# | ||||||
CES-D2000 | 3.8±4.0 | 4.3±3.8 | 10.5±6.1 | 9.2±6.0 | 51.4*** | a<c, a<d, b<c, b<d |
CES-D2006 | 4.3±4.7 | 5.4±5.5 | 6.6±5.4 | 8.5±7.1 | 11.0*** | a<c<d, b<d |
Disability | ||||||
Mobility2000 | 2.0±3.4 | 3.7±4.3 | 5.3±6.0 | 5.3±5.5 | 20.3*** | a<b, a<c<d |
Mobility2006 | 4.3±5.6 | 6.7±6.7 | 6.3±7.0 | 8.3±7.3 | 9.6*** | a<b, a<d |
IADLs2000 | 0.4±1.5 | 1.0±2.1 | 1.5±2.6 | 1.4±2.1 | 10.8*** | a<b, a<c, a<d |
IADLs2006 | 1.6±3.2 | 2.9±4.4 | 2.5±4.4 | 3.5±4.3 | 7.0** | a<b, a<d |