Table 1 General characteristics of the respondents (N = 1810)
| Â | Loneliness | Â | Â | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Variables | No N = 1110 | Yes N = 700 | χ2 | p-value |
Age (years) |  |  | 37.365 | < 0.001 |
 60–69 | 545 (49.1%) | 278 (39.7%) |  |  |
 70–79 | 435 (39.2%) | 268 (38.3%) |  |  |
  ≥ 80 | 130 (11.7%) | 154 (22.0%) |  |  |
Sex | Â | Â | 10.881 | 0.001 |
 Male | 506 (45.6%) | 264 (37.7%) |  |  |
 Female | 604 (54.4%) | 436 (62.3%) |  |  |
BMI (kg/m2) | Â | Â | 8.722 | 0.033 |
  < 18.5 | 108 (9.7%) | 81 (11.6%) |  |  |
 18.5–22.9 | 484 (43.6%) | 341 (48.7%) |  |  |
 23.0–27.4 | 417 (37.6%) | 227 (32.4%) |  |  |
  ≥ 27.5 | 101 (9.1%) | 51 (7.3%) |  |  |
Living status |  |  | 30.518 | < 0.001 |
 Not living alone | 1000 (90.1%) | 567 (81.0%) |  |  |
 Living alone | 110 (9.9%) | 133 (19.0%) |  |  |
Residence |  |  |  | < 0.001 |
 Urban | 556 (50.1%) | 245 (35.0%) |  |  |
 Rural | 554 (49.9%) | 455 (65.0%) |  |  |
Marital status |  |  | 60.266 | < 0.001 |
 Married/cohabited | 927 (83.5%) | 475 (67.9%) |  |  |
 Single | 183 (16.5%) | 225 (32.1%) |  |  |
Education level |  |  | 63.648 | < 0.001 |
 Primary school and below | 717 (64.6%) | 574 (82.0%) |  |  |
 Junior school | 219 (19.7%) | 72 (10.3%) |  |  |
 High school and above | 174 (15.7%) | 54 (7.7%) |  |  |
Functional ability |  |  | 222.842 | < 0.001 |
 Robust | 786 (70.8%) | 246 (35.1%) |  |  |
 Limited | 324 (29.2%) | 454 (64.9%) |  |  |
Number of diseases |  |  | 67.128 | < 0.001 |
 0 | 378 (34.1%) | 152 (21.7%) |  |  |
 1 | 447 (40.3%) | 267 (38.1%) |  |  |
 2 | 197 (17.7%) | 150 (21.4%) |  |  |
  > 2 | 88 (7.9%) | 131 (18.7%) |  |  |
Smoking status | Â | Â | 3.848 | 0.146 |
 Non-smoker | 850 (76.6%) | 562 (80.3%) |  |  |
 Former smoker | 62 (5.6%) | 37 (5.3%) |  |  |
 Smoker | 198 (17.8%) | 101 (14.4%) |  |  |
Drinking status | Â | Â | 7.737 | 0.021 |
 Non-drinker | 890 (80.2%) | 594 (84.9%) |  |  |
 Former drinker | 43 (3.9%) | 27 (3.9%) |  |  |
 Drinker | 177 (15.9%) | 79 (11.3%) |  |  |
Social participation |  |  | 40.766 | < 0.001 |
 High | 705 (63.5%) | 338 (48.3%) |  |  |
 Low | 405 (36.5%) | 362 (51.7%) |  |  |
Social support | Â | Â | 4.670 | 0.031 |
 High | 578 (52.1%) | 328 (46.9%) |  |  |
 Low | 532 (47.9%) | 372 (53.1%) |  |  |
Social connection |  |  | 67.738 | < 0.001 |
 High | 862 (77.7%) | 417 (59.6%) |  |  |
 Low | 248 (22.3%) | 283 (40.4%) |  |  |
Trust |  |  | 37.188 | < 0.001 |
 High | 690 (62.2%) | 333 (47.6%) |  |  |
 Low | 420 (37.8%) | 367 (52.4%) |  |  |
Cohesion |  |  | 37.064 | < 0.001 |
 High | 723 (65.1%) | 355 (50.7%) |  |  |
 Low | 387 (34.9%) | 345 (49.3%) |  |  |
Reciprocity |  |  | 53.083 | < 0.001 |
 High | 675 (60.8%) | 303 (43.3%) |  |  |
 Low | 435 (39.2%) | 397 (56.7%) |  |  |