Physical Impairments Disrupt the Association Between Physical Activity and Loneliness: A Longitudinal Study

摘要

This study explores the association between physical activity (PA), loneliness, and the presence of physical chronic impairments among single older adults. A longitudinal study (N?=?575; mean age 76?±?8 years) was conducted. The association between self-reported weekly minutes of moderate to vigorous PA, loneliness, and presence of physical impairments was assessed with multilevel analyses at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Improvements in moderate to vigorous PA were associated with decreases in loneliness (B?=??0.09, SE?=?0.04, p?=?.020); this association became nonsignificant when including the presence of physical impairments in the analyses (p?=?.824), which in itself was positively associated with loneliness (B?=?0.51, SE?=?0.10, p?