What is known about this topic• Loneliness is one of the most serious problems for older people.• Social support is a key factor to alleviate loneliness.• China is undergoing a rapid ageing of the population. What this paper adds• A broad and systematic review examined the prevalence and related factors of loneliness and the sources of social support of older people in China.• Consistent factors related to loneliness were identified. Family AbstractLoneliness is a serious problem for older people, which can be alleviated by social support. The dramatic population ageing together with social and economic change in China increases the likelihood of loneliness and the availability of different sources of social support of older people. The aim of this review was to identify the prevalence of loneliness and its related factors and sources of social support of older people in China. Electronic literature searches were conducted in September 2011 using Web of Science, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, China Academic Journal and VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals. Twenty-six papers were identified and reviewed. The prevalence of loneliness varied across the studies, reflecting the different measurements and samples. Marital status, gender, age, educational level, economic level, living arrangements, health status and social support were significant factors related to loneliness. The family was the most important source of social support followed by friends. The receipt of family support improved subjective well-being and mental health, but the effects of support from friends were inconsistent. Chinese older people received relatively little support from neighbours, governmental or other social organisations. Further well-designed studies are needed to identify additional factors related to loneliness and to understand the support from friends, neighbours, formal organisations and other sources.

This study identified nine factors influencing the QoL of older people living alone in Mainland China. Interventions to increase satisfaction with dwelling conditions, improve economic level, social support and functional ability, decrease loneliness and depression and improve health services satisfaction appear to be important for enhancing their QoL.

CAR (Coxsackie and Adenovirus Receptor) is the primary docking receptor for typeB coxsackie viruses and subgroup C adenoviruses. CAR is a member of the JAM family of adhesion receptors and is located to both tight and adherens junctions between epithelial cells where it can assemble adhesive contacts through homodimerisation in trans. However, the role of CAR in controlling epithelial junction dynamics remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that levels of CAR in human epithelial cells play a key role in determining epithelial cell adhesion through control of E-cadherin stability at cell-cell junctions. Mechanistically, we show that CAR is phosphorylated within the C-terminus by PKCδ and that this in turn controls Src-dependent endocytosis of E-cadherin at cell junctions. This data demonstrates a novel role for CAR in regulating epithelial homeostasis.

China has an ageing population with the number of older people living alone increasing. Living alone may increase the risk of loneliness of older people, especially for those in China where collectivism and filial piety are emphasised. Social support may fill the need for social contacts, thereby alleviating loneliness. However, little is known about loneliness and social support of older people living alone in China. This study investigated loneliness and social support of older people living alone, by conducting a cross-sectional questionnaire survey with a stratified random cluster sample of 521 community-dwelling older people living alone in a county of Shanghai. Data were collected from November 2011 to March 2012. The instruments used included the UCLA Loneliness Scale version 3 and the Social Support Rate Scale. The participants reported a moderate level of loneliness. Their overall social support level was low compared with the Chinese norm. Children were the major source of objective and subjective support. Of the participants, 53.9% (n = 281) and 47.6% (n = 248) asked for help and confided when they were in trouble, but 84.1% (n = 438) never or rarely attended social activities. The level of loneliness and social support differed among the participants with different sociodemographic characteristics. There were negative correlations between loneliness and overall social support and its three dimensions. The findings suggest that there is a need to provide more social support to older people living alone to decrease their feelings of loneliness. Potential interventions include encouraging more frequent contacts from children, the development of one-to-one 'befriending' and group activity programmes together with identification of vulnerable subgroups.