Background
Recently, single-person households have increased in Korea and this trend may have potential public health implications and affect various health behaviors. This study investigated the associations between living alone and health behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption among Korean adults.
Methods
We used data from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2013 and 2015 and a total of 17,088 adults were included. We performed a multivariable logistic regression analysis and calculated odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results
Single-person households accounted for about 10% of the total participants. The proportions of currently smoking and heavy alcohol consumption were higher among individuals living alone than those living together among younger women and middle-aged and elderly men and women. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, living alone was associated with increased odds of currently smoking compared to living together among middle-aged men and women (OR, 7.37; 95% CI, 2.33–23.32 in men and OR, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.04–5.36 in women) after adjusting for confounding variables.
Conclusion
From this nationwide, population-based study, we found that living alone is associated with increased odds of currently smoking, especially in middle-aged people. Public health concerns may be warranted for middle-aged single-person households to reduce health risks related to smoking.

Citations

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  Hong-Ying Yang, Lian Li, Lu-Jie Yu, Guo-Lin Bian
  World Journal of Psychiatry.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Early-term heterogeneous trajectories of patient-reported outcome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: a multicenter and prospective longitudinal study
  Jinbo Zhao, Yongchao Hou, Yuan Chu, Min He, Renting Xie, Hui Liu, Yahui Wang, Li Li
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• Living alone and cancer mortality by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status among US working‐age adults
  Hyunjung Lee, Gopal K. Singh, Ahmedin Jemal, Farhad Islami
  Cancer.2024; 130(1): 86.     CrossRef
• Association between living alone and all-cause mortality of young and middle-aged patients with acute myocardial infarction: analysis of the China Acute Myocardial Infarction (CAMI) registry
  Yu Jiang, Jin-Gang Yang, Hai-Yan Qian, Yue-Jin Yang
  BMC Public Health.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Smaller household size and higher prevalence of serious psychological distress in younger people and never-married people: a nationwide cross-sectional survey in Japan
  Kimiko Tomioka, Midori Shima, Keigo Saeki
  Frontiers in Public Health.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Longitudinal associations between living alone, childlessness and mental health and mortality in ageing adults in Thailand
  Supa Pengpid, Karl Peltzer, Dararatt Anantanasuwong, Wasin Kaewchankha
  Global Transitions.2024; 6: 145.     CrossRef
• The influencing factors of health status among low-income individuals living alone in Wuxi, China
  Shiming Li, Yue Wu, Queping Yang, Ying Jiang, Haohao Zhu
  Scientific Reports.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Стресові стани українців, які проживають соло, під час війни
  Дар’я Яшкіна
  Sociological Studios.2024; (2(25)): 34.     CrossRef
• Determinants of Problem Drinking by Regional Variation among Adult Males in Single-Person Households: Geographically Weighted Regression Model Analysis
  Junggeun Ahn, Heeseung Choi, Jiu Kim
  Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing.2023; 53(1): 101.     CrossRef
• Six-year mortality associated with living alone and loneliness in Swedish men and women born in 1930
  Masuma Novak, Margda Waern, Lena Johansson, Anna Zettergren, Lina Ryden, Hanna Wetterberg, Therese Rydberg Sterner, Madeleine Mellqvist Fässberg, Pia Gudmundsson, Ingmar Skoog
  BMC Geriatrics.2023;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Association between Increasing Social Capital and Decreasing Prevalence of Smoking at the Municipality Level: Repeated Cross-Sectional Study from the JAGES
  Hiroki Takeuchi, Kazushige Ide, Ryota Watanabe, Yasuhiro Miyaguni, Katsunori Kondo
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 19(8): 4472.     CrossRef
• Living Alone Is Not Associated With Cardiovascular Events and Hypoglycemia in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
  Zhaowei Zhu, Zhenyu Peng, Zhenhua Xing
  Frontiers in Public Health.2022;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Living alone and all-cause mortality in community-dwelling adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis
  Yunli Zhao, Gordon Guyatt, Ya Gao, Qiukui Hao, Ream Abdullah, John Basmaji, Farid Foroutan
  eClinicalMedicine.2022; 54: 101677.     CrossRef
• Current status of health promotion in Korea
  Soo Young Kim
  Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2022; 65(12): 776.     CrossRef

Background
The metabolic syndrome has been known as the cluster of insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and abdominal obesity. There have been many studies about the infl ammatory role in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, also. We aimed to elucidate the role of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) as a infl ammation-related factor in metabolic syndrome in Korean adults by correlation and factor analysis. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in 1,512 men and 1,836 women (over 20 years old) who had an examination at a center for health promotion of an university hospital from May 2004 through March 2005. The NCEP-ATP III definition and Asian-Pacific adjusted criteria were used to obtain the metabolic syndrome group. And we evaluated the role and gender difference of hs-CRP in metabolic syndrome by correlation and factor analysis.Results: In women, hs-CRP was statistically correlated with most metabolic variables, especially insulin resistance. In factor analysis, 3 factors (obesity, blood pressure, and insulin resistance) were obtained in men and 4 factors (obesity, blood pressure, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia) in women, respectively. In women, hs-CRP was a part of dyslipidemia factor.Conclusion: In factor anaylsis of metabolic syndrome factors with hs-CRP, hs-CRP was not a signifi cant factor in men, but was included as a part of dyslipidemia factor in women.

Citations

• The Relationship between Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors and High Sensitive C-reactive Protein in Abdominal Obesity Elderly Women
  Kyung-A Shin
  The Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science.2017; 49(2): 121.     CrossRef
• Clinical Outcomes after Modified Fasting Therapy Supplied with Gamrosu: A Retrospective Observational Study
  Seung-Uoo Shin, Dong-Hwan Kim, Hyun-Taeg Shin, Dal-Seok Oh
  Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research.2016; 16(1): 36.     CrossRef