Association between Living Alone and Multimorbidity in the Elderly

ABSTRACT

Background@#The relationship between solitary life and multimorbidity among older people in Korea is not clear.We aimed to examine the association between solitary life and the prevalence of multimorbidity among Korean older people. @*Methods@#We analyzed the data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Ⅶ(2016-2018) using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The study included 4,244 individuals aged ≥60 years. @*Results@#Multimorbidity was reported in 31.0% of the participants. The rate of multimorbidity was significantly higher in older people living alone compared to those living with their families. After adjusting for confounding variables such as age, sex, smoking status, alcohol consumption, body mass index (BMI), educational level, and personal income, older people living alone were significantly associated with higher risks of having multimorbidity compared to those living with their families (odds ratio, 1.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.48). @*Conclusions@#Since there is a risk of multimorbidity in older people living alone, it is necessary to examine whether multimorbidity exists in older people living alone.