This study aimed to clarify the degree of loneliness and its associated factors in elderly people who use day care services. Interviews were conducted using an interview schedule. A χ² test was performed to verify the independence of various factors associated with loneliness. Significant items were then used as independent variables in multiple logistic regression analysis with the presence or absence of loneliness as the dependent variables.

This study included 200 community-dwelling elderly people who used day care services [53 men (26.5%) and 147 women (73.5%)]. The respondents had a mean ± standard deviation score of 38.44 ± 9.43 on the loneliness scale. The results of the χ² test indicated that a significant number of elderly people in the “lonely group” were not socially active (p=0.010), lived in apartment complexes (p=0.036), or did not have hobbies (p=0.037). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that loneliness was significantly associated with social participation [odds ratio (OR): 0.148; 95％ confidence interval (CI): 0.03-0.66; p=0.012] and type of residence (OR: 0.464; 95% CI: 0.23-0.94; p=0.033).

The results demonstrated that loneliness in the elderly is clearly associated with their social participation and living situations as well as their hobbies and activities. These findings have important implications for understanding loneliness in community-living elderly people who use day care services.

This study aimed to examine the validity of the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women of Reproductive Age (MDD-W), which assesses the micronutrient adequacy of the participants by counting the number of food groups they consumed, in rural Rwanda. We used 54 one-day weighed food records collected from 41 women to calculate Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficient between references of micronutrient adequacy and the MDD-W. Since only a few micronutrients' references had a significant correlation with MDD-W scores (r=0.294 to 0.392), we concluded the MDD-W could not work well in our study sites. That was due to these sites' food consumption patterns; while micronutrient-dense foods such as meat and dark green leafy vegetables were eaten less (average daily intake was 25.8g and 46.2g, respectively) and they did not practically contribute to micronutrient supply, energy-dense foods such as starchy staple foods were consumed in a large amount (600.5g per day) and supplied a large part of micronutrient intake. Moreover, it was observed that references of many micronutrients increased in proportion to starchy staple foodsʼ consumption (r=0.634). The MDD-W was not suitable for micronutrient assessment in our study sites' conditions and quantity information should be taken into consideration where food variety is limited. (203 words / about 200 words)