ArticlePublic health nutrition2020
Living alone, social networks in neighbourhoods, and daily fruit and vegetable consumption among middle-aged and older adults in the USA.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Longitudinal Evidence on Social Ties and Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Aging Adults: A Systematic Review.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Associations between dimensions of the social environment and cardiometabolic health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- Adverse changes in close social ties reduce fruit and vegetable intake in aging adults: a prospective gender-sensitive study of the Canadian longitudinal study on aging (CLSA).The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Article
- Nutritional Risk Factors Model of Community-Dwelling Older People in Poland-Pilot Study.Nutrients · 2025Article
- The impact of living alone on older adults' mental health and the mediating role of healthy diet.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- The PHEM-B toolbox of methods for incorporating the influences on Behaviour into Public Health Economic Models.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Association between glycaemic control and malnutrition in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study.The British journal of nutrition · 2024Article
- Perspective: Nutrition Health Disparities Framework: A Model to Advance Health Equity.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2024Article
- Sociodemographic and Health Indicators of Diet Quality in Pre-Frail Older Adults in New Zealand.Nutrients · 2023Article
- The Role of Family Social Networks in Cardiovascular Health Behaviors Among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2023Review
- Article
- Difficulty and help with activities of daily living among older adults living alone during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-country population-based study.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- Environmental risk factors of type 2 diabetes-an exposome approach.Diabetologia · 2022Review
- Association of the Healthy Eating Index with Metabolic Abnormalities among Middle-Aged Adults Living in Single-Person Households in Korea.Nutrients · 2021Article
- Food and nutrient intake and diet quality among older Americans.Public health nutrition · 2021Article
- Loneliness, Wellbeing, and Social Activity in Scottish Older Adults Resulting from Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveA social network is a valuable resource in later life. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate whether social networks within homes and neighbourhoods are associated with older adults' daily fruit and vegetable consumption.
designCross-sectional secondary data analysis.
settingUSA.
participantsA nationally representative sample of 6865 community-dwelling older adults over age 53 in the Health and Retirement Study - Health Care and Nutrition Survey.
resultsOlder adults who lived alone with no children or friends nearby had the lowest fruit and vegetable consumption. However, the daily fruit and vegetable consumption of respondents who lived alone and had children or friends nearby or those who lived with someone and had no children or friends nearby was not statistically different from those who lived with someone and had children or friends nearby. This suggests that having a social network either at home or in the neighbourhood complements the absence of living with someone or having children or friends nearby and attenuates the negative association between limited social networks and daily fruit and vegetable consumption. A greater decrease in the number of fruits and vegetables consumed was observed among men when they lived alone with no children or friends nearby.
conclusionsSpecial attention should be given to older adults with limited social networks, especially older adults living alone with no children or friends nearby. Provision of help with grocery shopping and meal preparation as well as social support networks and more opportunities that can improve social engagement appear to be necessary.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.