Association Between Public Transportation Use and Loneliness Among Urban Elderly People Who Stop Driving

Aim: To examine the association between public transportation use and loneliness in urban elderly who stop driving. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we assessed 31 community-dwelling older adults who had stopped driving. Public transportation use was assessed by using frequency and divided into two groups. The users group was participants who used public transportation more than once a week and the nonusers group was participants who used public transportation less than once a week. Loneliness was measured using the Japanese version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale version 3 (UCLA.LS.ver3), with a higher score indicating greater loneliness. The independent t test was used to compare the UCLA.LS.ver3 scores between users and nonusers group. A multiple linear regression model was used with the UCLA.LS.ver3 score as the objective variable and public transportation use as the explanatory variable. Results: The UCLA.LS.ver3 score was significantly higher in the nonusers group than in the users group (nonusers group: 12.7 ± 1.9; users group: 10.1 ± 2.9, p = .017). After adjustments, public transportation use was significantly associated with lower loneliness (β = -2.55, p = .029). Conclusion: Public transportation use might have important role to prevent loneliness in older adults who stop driving.