TY - JOUR
T1 - The Influence of Loneliness on the Smoking and Physical Activity of Community-Dwelling Older Adults
T2 - Results from the Health and Retirement Study
AU - Yang, Jie
AU - Yockey, R. Andrew
AU - Chu, Yoosun
AU - Lee, Joseph G.L.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the 2021 ECU Health Behavior Research Cluster Seed Grant.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - Purpose: To use the loneliness model in examining the influence of loneliness on the number cigarettes smoked per day and the different intensity levels of physical activity among community-dwelling older Americans in the United States. Design, setting, sample: This study analyzed a nationally representative sample of older adults aged 65+ in two waves (2010 and 2012) of data from the Health and Retirement Study. Response rates for the two waves were 81% and 89.1%. The sample size for smoking model was 199, and for physical activity models was 3018. Measures: Outcomes included number of cigarettes smoked per day and physical activity at three intensity levels: light, moderate, and vigorous. Independent variable was the UCLA loneliness scale. Analysis: A lagged dependent approach for modeling longitudinal data was adopted. Models controlled for outcomes at the first timepoint (Wave 1), health/physical functioning, and demographic variables. Results: Loneliness was associated with an increased number of cigarettes smoked per day (β = 2.93, P <.05) and decreased engagement in moderate and vigorous physical activity for older adults (β =.12, P <.05; β =.12, P <. 05), after controlling for these behaviors at baseline and other covariates. Conclusion: The findings call for smoking reduction and physical activity enhancement interventions targeting older adults who have high levels of loneliness. Efforts to enhance social support will be crucial to eradicating the harmful health impact of loneliness. Critical limitations include self-reported measures and unobserved confounders.
AB - Purpose: To use the loneliness model in examining the influence of loneliness on the number cigarettes smoked per day and the different intensity levels of physical activity among community-dwelling older Americans in the United States. Design, setting, sample: This study analyzed a nationally representative sample of older adults aged 65+ in two waves (2010 and 2012) of data from the Health and Retirement Study. Response rates for the two waves were 81% and 89.1%. The sample size for smoking model was 199, and for physical activity models was 3018. Measures: Outcomes included number of cigarettes smoked per day and physical activity at three intensity levels: light, moderate, and vigorous. Independent variable was the UCLA loneliness scale. Analysis: A lagged dependent approach for modeling longitudinal data was adopted. Models controlled for outcomes at the first timepoint (Wave 1), health/physical functioning, and demographic variables. Results: Loneliness was associated with an increased number of cigarettes smoked per day (β = 2.93, P <.05) and decreased engagement in moderate and vigorous physical activity for older adults (β =.12, P <.05; β =.12, P <. 05), after controlling for these behaviors at baseline and other covariates. Conclusion: The findings call for smoking reduction and physical activity enhancement interventions targeting older adults who have high levels of loneliness. Efforts to enhance social support will be crucial to eradicating the harmful health impact of loneliness. Critical limitations include self-reported measures and unobserved confounders.
KW - cigarette
KW - exercise
KW - perceived isolation
KW - purpose
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127434685&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/08901171221081136
DO - 10.1177/08901171221081136
M3 - Article
C2 - 35325583
AN - SCOPUS:85127434685
SN - 0890-1171
VL - 36
SP - 959
EP - 966
JO - American Journal of Health Promotion
JF - American Journal of Health Promotion
IS - 6
ER -