Postponed Dental Appointments Due to Costs Are Associated with Increased Loneliness—Evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe
Autor: | Hans-Helmut König, Ghazal Aarabi, André Hajek, Kristin Spinler, Richelle Valdez, Carolin Walther, Guido Heydecke, Elzbieta Buczak-Stec |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Rok vydání: | 2021 |
Předmět: |
Male
Gerontology Aging dental appointments Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis media_common.quotation_subject lcsh:Medicine Affect (psychology) Article Appointments and Schedules 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Germany Surveys and Questionnaires loneliness Humans Medicine 030212 general & internal medicine Socioeconomic status Aged media_common Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe business.industry Confounding lcsh:R Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Loneliness 030206 dentistry Middle Aged Patient Acceptance of Health Care UCLA Loneliness Scale dental avoidance Feeling Scale (social sciences) dental health services Female dental care health services accessibility medicine.symptom business |
Zdroj: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 336, p 336 (2021) International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Volume 18 Issue 1 |
ISSN: | 1661-7827 1660-4601 |
Popis: | As is already well known, demographic changes will presumably lead to a rising number of old aged individuals and loneliness is a tremendous concern in aging populations. Poor health can be a potential consequence of loneliness, as well as a determining factor. Thus, the objective of the current study was to determine whether postponed dental appointments due to costs affect loneliness longitudinally. Focusing on Germany, data from two waves (waves 5 and 6) of the &ldquo Survey of Health Ageing, and Retirement in Europe&rdquo (SHARE) were analyzed (n = 7703). The three-item loneliness scale (modified version of the revised UCLA Loneliness scale) was used to quantify loneliness. The presence of postponed dental appointments due to costs in the past 12 months (no yes) served as a key independent variable. Socioeconomic factors as well as health-related factors were adjusted in the longitudinal regression analysis. After adjusting for confounding variables, regression analyses revealed that loneliness increased with decreases in self-rated health among men. Among women, loneliness increased when self-rated health decreased, when fewer chronic diseases and postponed dental appointments due to costs were reported. Among older women, postponed dental appointments due to costs are associated with feelings of loneliness. The study results add evidence that proper dental care (i.e., regular and appropriate visits to the dentist) is vital not only to one&rsquo s oral health, but also plays a role in one&rsquo s physical and emotional health. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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