한국 독거 중고령자의 사회적 활동 참여가 건강관련 삶의 질에 미치는 영향 = The Impact of Social Activity Participation on Health-related Quality of Life among Older Koreans Living Alone

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Objectives: This study aims to determine the impact of social activity participation on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among older Koreans living alone. Methods: We analyzed the data of 27,261 Korean adults aged 50 years and older, who participated in the 2019 Community Health Survey. HRQoL was measured as EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ-5D) using five questions regarding mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. The study subjects were characterized using descriptive statistics. The t-test and ANOVA test were used to compare the mean EQ-5D indices between groups. Three multiple regression models were run to examine the impact of participating in social activities (friendship, leisure, religious, and volunteering) on EQ-5D indices. Results: The mean age of all respondents was 68.2 years old. The majority (66.1%) were women. 28.7% of respondents rated themselves to be unhealthy. 47.5% and 20.8% participated in friendship and leisure activities, respectively. On average, men had higher EQ-5D indices than women (0.908 vs. 0.849, p<0.001). The EQ-5D index was highest among participants who perceive themselves to be very healthy (Mean=0.969, p<0.001). The EQ-5D index was positively associated with only friendship and leisure activities (B=0.024 and 0.011, respectively, p<0.001). Conclusions: Among all types of social activities, only friendship and leisure activities may influence the HRQoL of older adults living alone. Therefore, the role of these activities should be emphasized in developing interventions to improve the HRQoL of the vulnerable population.