Social isolation and health-promoting behaviors among older adults living with different health statuses: A cross-sectional study.
Fan Wu, Yu Sheng
PMID 34307779WHAT IT FOUND
In older adults, social isolation did not differ by health status.
People with multiple diseases reported lower physical activity than others, and total health-promoting behavior was lower than in those with one disease. Isolation was linked to fewer behaviors overall and in that group.
Key findings
01Social isolation did not differ among healthy older adults, those with one disease, and those with multiple diseases.
02Older adults with one disease had higher total health-promoting behavior scores than those with multiple diseases, and those with multiple diseases had lower physical activity scores than healthy older adults or those with one disease.
03Greater social isolation was associated with lower health-promoting behaviors overall and in the multimorbidity group, but not in the healthy or one-disease groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study collected all data at one time, so it cannot show whether social isolation came before or after health-promoting behaviors. It used a convenience sample from Beijing, so it may not represent older adults in other parts of China. It excluded people with terminal illness, severe cognitive disease, or disability, so it says little about more frail older adults. Health-promoting behaviors were self-reported, so they may not match objective behavior. 15 of 500 people were excluded for missing data.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that social isolation causes poorer health behaviors or that treating isolation will improve them. The study was cross-sectional and self-reported, and social isolation did not differ among the health status groups.