The association of multimorbidity, loneliness, social exclusion and network size: findings from the population-based German Ageing Survey

Table 1 Characteristics, stratified by multimorbidity (n = 7604)

	Individuals with < 2 illnesses (n = 2464)		Individuals with ≥2 illnesses (n = 5140)		p-value
	N/Mean	%/SD	N/Mean	%/SD	t-test/chi²-test
Gender: Female	1321	53.61%	2551	49.63%	< 0.001
Age in years	59.83	10.58	66.55	10.86	< 0.001
Marital status: Married, living together with spouse	1740	70.79%	3571	69.61%	< 0.001
Married, living separated from spouse	53	2.16%	72	1.40%
Divorced	260	10.58%	502	9.79%
Widowed	182	7.40%	660	12.87%
Single	223	9.07%	325	6.34%
Monthly net equivalent income in Euro	2150.14	1495.79	1852.67	1331.10	< 0.001
Body-Mass-Index	25.81	4.07	27.43	4.75	< 0.001
Current smoking status: Daily	392	15.99%	660	12.94%	< 0.001
Yes, sometimes	124	5.06%	178	3.49%
No, not anymore	793	32.35%	2007	39.36%
No, never	1142	46.59%	2254	44.20%
Alcohol consumption; Daily	249	10.20%	662	13.05%	< 0.001
Several times a week	641	26.27%	1188	23.42%
Once a week	456	18.69%	750	14.78%
One to three times per month	335	13.73	580	11.43
Less frequently	546	22.38	1260	24.84
Never	213	8.73	633	12.48
Physical activity: Daily	772	31.91%	1639	32.67%	0.01
Several times a week	1004	41.50%	1989	39.65%
Once a week	200	8.27%	364	7.26%
One to three times per month	185	7.65%	399	7.95%
Less frequently	198	8.19%	427	8.51%
Never	60	2.48%	199	3.97%
Depressive symptoms	4.88	5.00	7.47	6.21	< 0.001
Loneliness	1.68	.53	1.82	.55	< 0.001
Social exclusion	2.47	.53	2.66	.61	< 0.001
Number of important people in regular contact	5.28	2.68	5.20	2.71	0.23
Number of physical illnesses	.65	.48	3.53	1.56	< 0.001

Notes: Loneliness was assessed using the De Jong Gierveld short scales for loneliness [34] with higher scores indicating greater feelings of loneliness; Perceived social exclusion was measured with a scale developed by Bude and Lantermann [16] with higher values reflecting a stronger perceived social exclusion; Number of important people in regular contact ranged from 0 to 9; Marital status included being married and living together with spouse; married and living separated from spouse; divorced; widowed and single; Depressive symptoms were assessed using the German 15 item version of the CES-D [46]; Smoking status: ranging from 1 = ‘daily’ to 4 = ‘never been a smoker’; Alcohol consumption: ranging from 1 = ‘daily’ to 6 = ‘never; Physical activity: ranging from 1 = ‘daily’ to 6 = ‘never’

ISSN: 1471-2458