AUTHOR=Chang Huajing , Ruan Wenqian , Chen Yating , Cai Longhua , Liu Xiaojun 

TITLE=Gender differences in the relationship between loneliness and health-related behavioral risk factors among the Hakka elderly in Fujian, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1196092

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1196092

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>To explore gender differences in the relationship between loneliness and health-related behavioral risk factors (BRFs) among the Hakka elderly.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Loneliness was measured by <italic>the UCLA Loneliness Scale Short-form (ULS-8)</italic>. Seven BRFs were examined. Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and <italic>post hoc</italic> tests were conducted to compare the differences in ULS-8 scores among the Hakka elderly with different BRFs. Generalized linear regression models were employed to examine the associations of specific BRF and its number with the ULS-8 scores among the Hakka elderly in male, female, and total samples.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Physical inactivity (<italic>B</italic> = 1.96, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), insufficient leisure activities participation (<italic>B</italic> = 1.44, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), unhealthy dietary behavior (<italic>B</italic> = 1.02, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), and irregular sleep (<italic>B</italic> = 2.45, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) were positively correlated with the ULS-8 scores, whereas drinking (<italic>B</italic> = −0.71, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01) was negatively associated with the ULS-8 scores in the total sample. In males, insufficient leisure activities participation (<italic>B</italic> = 2.35, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), unhealthy dietary behavior (<italic>B</italic> = 1.39, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), and irregular sleep (<italic>B</italic> = 2.07, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) were positively associated with the ULS-8 scores. In females, physical inactivity (<italic>B</italic> = 2.69, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) and irregular sleep (<italic>B</italic> = 2.91, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) was positively correlated with the scores of ULS-8, while drinking (<italic>B</italic> = −0.98, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05) was negatively associated with the ULS-8 scores. More BRFs were significantly related to greater loneliness (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>There are gender differences in the relationship between loneliness and BRFs among the Hakka elderly, and individuals with more BRFs were more likely to feel loneliness. Therefore, the co-occurrence of multiple BRFs requires more attention, and integrated behavioral intervention strategies should be adopted to reduce the loneliness of the elderly.</p></sec>