Profiles of subjective health among people living alone: a latent class analysis

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. 1 - 1335
• Main Authors: Pasanen, Tytti P, Tamminen, Nina, Martelin, Tuija, Mankinen, Katariina, Solin, Pia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central Ltd 07.07.2021; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adults; Age groups; Chi-square test; Demographic aspects; Demographics; Demography; Epidemiology; Gender; Geographical locations; Health aspects; Health status; Households; Latent class analysis; Living alone; Mental health; Occupancy; Population; Psychological well-being; Quality of life; Regression analysis; Regression models; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Sensitivity analysis; Single occupancy households; Social life; Statistical tests; Well being; Women; Finland
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-11396-2
• ISSN: 1471-2458

Background Living alone has increased globally and especially in Finland where 45% of all households are single occupancy. Epidemiological research has found that living alone a risk factor for a wide range of adversities related to quality of life but the rapidly-changing demographics of people living alone calls for a more detailed investigation of their subjective health status. Methods Using a cross-sectional survey sent for a random sample of Finnish residents in single-person households (n = 884), we explored with latent class analysis whether the respondents form different health profiles based on the three health dimensions defined by the World Health Organization: physical, social, and mental well-being. The identified groups were then compared in terms of demographic characteristics with the [chl].sup.2 test and quality of life using linear regression models. Sensitivity analyses were run using more refined, manual 3-step BCH method. Results Four distinct health profiles were found: Languishing (4%), Managing (35%), Healthy (30%), and Flourishing (31%). The groups differed in most socio-demographic aspects such as marital and employment status, but not in terms of geographic location or gender (apart from group Languishing that contained more men). Controlling for these socio-demographic differences, all groups showed different average levels of perceived quality of life to the expected direction. Conclusions Our findings suggest that people living alone are indeed a very heterogeneous group in terms of subjective health. Instead of seeing living alone as a mere risk for low quality of life, concept of living alone should be understood more broadly both in public discussion and scientific research. Keywords: Single occupancy households, Health status, Psychological well-being, Social life, Quality of life