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

Kristensen, Kaja; König, Hans-Helmut; Hajek, André

doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7741-x

Table 3 Determinants of loneliness, social exclusion and network size (n = 7604)

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

Independent variables	Loneliness	Social Exclusion	Number of important people in regular contact
Gender: Female (Ref.: male)	−0.14***	− 0.03*	0.48***
Gender: Female (Ref.: male)	(0.01)	(0.01)	(0.07)
Age in years	−0.00***	−0.00	− 0.02***
Age in years	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)
Marital status (Ref.: married and living together with spouse):married and living separated from spouse	0.07	0.04	−0.58*
	(0.05)	(0.05)	(0.24)
Divorced	0.16***	0.09***	−0.60***
Divorced	(0.02)	(0.02)	(0.11)
Widowed	0.02	0.01	−0.56***
Widowed	(0.02)	(0.02)	(0.11)
Single	0.10***	0.07*	−0.69***
Single	(0.03)	(0.03)	(0.12)
Monthly net equivalent income in Euro	−0.00***	−0.00***	0.00***
Monthly net equivalent income in Euro	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)
BMI: > 30 (Ref.: ≤30)	−0.02	− 0.00	0.02
BMI: > 30 (Ref.: ≤30)	(0.02)	(0.02)	(0.08)
Depressive symptoms	0.03***	0.03***	−0.01***
Depressive symptoms	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.01)
Current smoking status (Ref.: daily): Yes, sometimes	−0.09*	− 0.08*	0.26
Current smoking status (Ref.: daily): Yes, sometimes	(0.04)	(0.04)	(0.19)
Not anymore	−0.01	− 0.02	0.17+
Not anymore	(0.02)	(0.02)	(0.10)
Never smoked	−0.05**	−0.03	0.11
Never smoked	(0.02)	(0.02)	(0.10)
Alcohol consumption (Ref.: daily): Several times per week	−0.03	0.00	0.14
Alcohol consumption (Ref.: daily): Several times per week	(0.02)	(0.02)	(0.11)
Once per week	−0.01	0.02	0.03
Once per week	(0.02)	(0.02)	(0.12)
Once to three times per month	−0.02	0.05*	0.05
Once to three times per month	(0.02)	(0.03)	(0.13)
Less frequently	−0.00	0.07**	−0.21+
Less frequently	(0.02)	(0.02)	(0.11)
Never	0.02	0.11***	−0.53***
Never	(0.03)	(0.03)	(0.13)
Physical activity (Ref.: never): Daily	0.03	−0.03	0.77***
Physical activity (Ref.: never): Daily	(0.03)	(0.03)	(0.13)
Several times per week	0.01	−0.06**	0.74***
Several times per week	(0.02)	(0.02)	(0.09)
Once per week	0.02	−0.03	0.44***
Once per week	(0.02)	(0.02)	(0.10)
Once to three times per month	0.01	−0.01	0.76***
Once to three times per month	(0.03)	(0.03)	(0.13)
Less frequently	0.03	−0.05*	0.33**
Less frequently	(0.02)	(0.02)	(0.11)
Multimorbidity (Ref.:< 2 illnesses)	0.08***	0.09***	0.27***
Multimorbidity (Ref.:< 2 illnesses)	(0.01)	(0.01)	(0.07)
Constant	1.77***	2.35***	5.62***
Constant	(0.05)	(0.06)	(0.28)
Observations	6856	6856	6856
R²	0.16	0.15	0.07

Notes: Unstandardized regression coefficients b are reported; Robust standard errors in parentheses; *** p < 0.001, ** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05, + p < 0.10; Loneliness was assessed using the De Jong Gierveld short scales for loneliness 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; Gender: Male (Ref.); Marital status included being married and living together with spouse (Ref.); married and living separated from spouse; divorced; widowed and single; BMI was dichotomized into BMI < 30 (Ref.) and BMI ≥ 30; Depressive symptoms were assessed using the German 15 item version of the CES-D [46]; Smoking status: ranging from 1 = ‘daily’(Ref.) to 4 = ‘never been a smoker’; Alcohol consumption: ranging from 1 = ‘daily’ to 6 = ‘never; Physical activity: ranging from 1 = ‘daily’ to 6 = ‘never’ (Ref.); Multimorbidity was dichotomized into < 2 illnesses (Ref.) and ≥ 2 illnesses

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ISSN: 1471-2458

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