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Social isolation as a risk factor for inadequate diet of older Eastern Europeans

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objectives

Social isolation has been shown to be a risk factor for inadequate diet among older adults living in Western Europe and North America. This article investigates whether socially isolated older adults (65+) living in Eastern Europe also experience an increased risk of dietary inadequacy.

Methods

The study used SHARE IV survey data collected in the Czech Republic (n = 2,867), Poland (n = 772), and Hungary (n = 1,353). Logistic regression models were estimated for each country separately to predict the likelihood of two proxies for dietary adequacy, having three meals a day and/or a serving of fruits or vegetables, by social isolation.

Results

Social isolation was associated with lower likelihood of having three meals a day among Czech older adults (OR 0.39) and with lower likelihood of having a daily serving of fruits or vegetables among Czech (OR 0.62) and Polish older adults (OR 0.35). No association between social isolation and either one of the outcomes was found in Hungary.

Conclusions

Socially isolated Eastern European older adults may be at a higher risk of dietary inadequacy, particularly in the Czech Republic and Poland.

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Acknowledgments

“This paper uses data from SHARE wave 4 release 1.1.1, as of March 28th 2013(doi:10.6103/SHARE.w4.111) or SHARE wave 1 and 2 release 2.6.0, as of November 29 2013 (doi:10.6103/SHARE.w1.260 and 10.6103/SHARE.w2.260) or SHARELIFE release 1, as of November 24th 2010 (doi:10.6103/SHARE.w3.100). The SHARE data collection has been primarily funded by the European Commission through the 5th Framework Programme (Project QLK6-CT-2001-00360 in the thematic programme Quality of Life), through the 6th Framework Programme (Projects SHARE-I3, RII-CT-2006-062193, COMPARE, CIT5- CT-2005-028857, and SHARELIFE, CIT4-CT-2006-028812) and through the 7th Framework Programme (SHARE-PREP, No 211909, SHARE-LEAP, No 227822 and SHARE M4, No 261982). Additional funding from the U.S. National Institute on Aging (U01 AG09740-13S2, P01 AG005842, P01 AG08291, P30 AG12815, R21 AG025169, Y1-AG-4553-01, IAG BSR06-11 and OGHA 04-064) and the German Ministry of Education and Research as well as from various national sources is gratefully acknowledged (see www.share-project.org for a full list of funding institutions).”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

    Lucie Kalousova

  2. Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

    Lucie Kalousova

Authors
  1. Lucie Kalousova
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lucie Kalousova.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 5.

Table 5 Characteristics of the SHARE IV analytic subsamples for Czech Republic (2010/2011), Poland (2011/2012), and Hungary in 2011
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Kalousova, L. Social isolation as a risk factor for inadequate diet of older Eastern Europeans. Int J Public Health 59, 707–714 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-014-0582-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-014-0582-6

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