Background Loneliness is a biopsychosocial stressor linked to poor health outcomes including dementia. Few studies have focused on this association among men and even fewer have examined racial disparities in loneliness and cognitive functioning among this group. The purpose of this study was to examine racial differences in the association between loneliness and cognitive functioning among men in the 2016 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Methods This cross-sectional study included Black and White men who completed the core questionnaire and the Leave Behind Questionnaire (n=2227). Any cognitive impairment was the primary outcome and was measured by a dichotomous variable derived from a modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status. Loneliness was the primary independent variable and was derived from the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. Modified Poisson regression models with robust standard errors were estimated to generate prevalence ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Results Black men comprised 18.4% of the study sample; however, the proportion of this group with scores indicating cognitive impairment (35.9%) doubled the corresponding percentage of white men (17.6%). Findings from race-stratified modified Poisson regression models indicated that loneliness was associated with a higher prevalence of any cognitive impairment for White men (PR=1.24, CI:1.05-1.47), but not for Black men (PR=0.92, CI:0.73-1.16). Conclusions Our results underscore the complexity of race when investigating the association between loneliness and cognitive impairment among older men. Additional studies are needed to further examine how loneliness may have racially distinct implications for cognitive outcomes among the population.

中文翻译：

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老年黑人和白人男性孤独感与认知障碍之间关系的种族差异


背景 孤独是一种生物心理社会压力源，与包括痴呆在内的不良健康状况有关。很少有研究关注男性之间的这种关联，而研究这一群体在孤独感和认知功能方面的种族差异的研究就更少了。本研究的目的是检查 2016 年健康与退休研究 （HRS） 浪潮中男性孤独感与认知功能之间关联的种族差异。方法 这项横断面研究包括完成核心问卷和 Leave Behind 问卷 （n=2227） 的黑人和白人男性。任何认知障碍都是主要结局，并通过一个二分变量来衡量，该变量来自认知状态电话访谈的修改版本。孤独是主要的自变量，源自 3 项 UCLA 孤独量表。估计具有稳健标准误差的改良泊松回归模型以生成患病率和相应的 95% 置信区间。结果 黑人男性占研究样本的 18.4%;然而，该组中得分表明认知障碍的比例 （35.9%） 是白人男性相应百分比 （17.6%） 的两倍。种族分层改良泊松回归模型的结果表明，孤独感与白人男性 （PR=1.24， CI：1.05-1.47） 的任何认知障碍患病率较高相关，但黑人男性则不然 （PR=0.92， CI：0.73-1.16）。结论 在调查老年男性孤独感与认知障碍之间的关联时，我们的研究结果强调了种族的复杂性。需要更多的研究来进一步检查孤独如何对人群的认知结果产生种族差异。