Abstract

Objectives

Social isolation is a critical public health issue that affects multiple domains of well-being among older adults, but little is known about social isolation among older military veterans. As such, the purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of social isolation among older veterans and to examine risk factors for social isolation among older veterans.

Method

Data were derived from Round 1 of the National Health and Aging Trends Study, which is an annual, longitudinal panel survey of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older. The sample included 1,683 veterans, who were primarily White and male. Weighted logistic regression models were used to predict severe social isolation (having no social participation) and social isolation (having only one source of social participation) among older veterans, while controlling for age, sex, race, marital status, education, income, and metropolitan residency.

Results

After accounting for other predictors, results show that veterans who are 85 and older, male, White, unmarried or unpartnered, with lower educational attainment and lower income are greatly at risk of both severe social isolation and social isolation.

Conclusion

The results of this study support past research showing that veterans with limited social and economic capital are at great risk of experiencing adverse outcomes in older adulthood, including social isolation. Interventions should therefore aim to improve social connectedness among this population and should address the risk-factors that contribute to social isolation among older veterans.

中文翻译：

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老年退伍军人的社会隔离：国家健康和老龄化趋势研究的结果

摘要

目标

社会隔离是一个重要的公共卫生问题，影响老年人的多个福祉领域，但对老年退伍军人的社会隔离知之甚少。因此，本研究的目的是估计老年退伍军人中社会孤立的普遍性，并检查老年退伍军人社会孤立的风险因素。

方法

数据来自国家健康和老龄化趋势研究的第一轮，这是一项针对 65 岁及以上医疗保险受益人的年度纵向小组调查。样本包括 1,683 名退伍军人，主要是白人和男性。加权逻辑回归模型用于预测老年退伍军人的严重社会孤立（没有社会参与）和社会孤立（只有一种社会参与来源），同时控制年龄、性别、种族、婚姻状况、教育、收入和大都会居住。

结果

在考虑了其他预测因素后，结果显示，年龄在 85 岁及以上、男性、白人、未婚或未婚伴侣、受教育程度和收入较低的退伍军人面临严重的社会孤立和社会孤立的风险。

结论

这项研究的结果支持过去的研究，该研究表明，社会和经济资本有限的退伍军人在成年后极有可能出现不良后果，包括社会孤立。因此，干预措施应旨在改善这一人群之间的社会联系，并应解决导致老年退伍军人社会孤立的风险因素。