The results show loneliness as a major risk factor for hypertension and call for health care professionals to be aware of the negative physiological effects of loneliness in old age.

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BackgroundWe examined the relationship between morale measured by the Philadelphia Geriatric Morale Scale (PGC) and disability, social support, religiosity, and personality traits. Instruments predicting morale were then tested against PGC domains.MethodsThe study utilized a cross-sectional survey with a multistage cluster sampling design. Instruments used were disability (disease burden; WHO Disability Score-II, WHODAS-II), social support (Duke Social Support Scale, DUSOCS; Lubben Social Network Scale, LSNS-6; Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, MOS-SSS), religiosity (Revised Intrinsic-Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale, I/E-R), and personality (Ten-Item Personality Inventory, TIPI). These were plotted as bar charts against PGC, resolved with one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests, then corrected for multiple comparisons. This process was repeated with PGC domains. Contribution of factors was modeled using population attributable risk (PAR) and odds ratios. Effect of confounders such as gender, age, and ethnicity were checked using binary logistic regression.ResultsAll instruments showed clear relationships with PGC, with WHODAS-II and DUSOCS performing well (ANOVA p<0.001). For PGC domains, attitude toward aging and lonely dissatisfaction trended together, while agitation did not. PAR, odds ratios, and Exp(β) were disability (WHODAS-II: 28.5%, 3.8, 2.8), social support (DUSOCS: 28.0%, 3.4, 2.2), religiosity (I/E-R: 21.6%, 3.2, 2.1), and personality (TIPI: 27.9%, 3.6, 2.4). Combined PAR was 70.9%.ConclusionsDisability, social support, religiosity, and personality strongly influence morale in the elderly. WHODAS-II and DUSOCS perform best in measuring disability and social support respectively.

Rapid economic growth and urbanization have contributed to increasing concerns around sustainable development in China. Although urban sustainable development is often comprised of environmental, economic, social and governance aspects, most empirical studies on the public perception of sustainability have exclusively focused on the environmental aspect. Using extensive survey data from three representative cities in Henan Province, China, this study is a first endeavor to examine how perceptions of urban sustainability performance and concerns vary by demographic and socio‐economic status of local residents. This study documents that familiarity with sustainable development concepts is positively associated with education, income, party affiliation and personal health of individuals, while negatively correlated with age. In addition, this study has shown that the most severe threats to sustainability as perceived by citizens are air pollution, corruption, income and education inequality, and excessive industrial production. At the same time, economic indicators such as unemployment, poverty and consumerism are considered lesser threats than social inequality or environmental pollution. Furthermore, residents generally view the sustainable development performance of their cities as mediocre. While generally younger residents and residents with higher levels of education tend to be more critical and long‐term residents tend to be more forgiving, results frequently show that concerns and attitudes towards sustainable development by various socio‐demographic groups differ from city to city. This is strong evidence to support independent local policies tailored to the socio‐demographics of each individual city.

Research Summary The flow of knowledge is closely linked to proximity. While extensive works show that long‐term geographic proximity affects work behavior, little is known about the effect of short‐term colocation, such as conferences. Using participant data at Gordon Research Conferences, we estimate difference‐in‐differences and instrumental variable models, which show that attendees who have no prior within‐conference collaborations are more likely to collaborate with other attendees, and that the researchers who have worked previously with other attendees are more likely to continue their collaborations. We also find that researchers who are junior, are located closer to the conference venue, and have established prior ties to the conference draw more collaborative benefits from temporary colocation across organizations. Thus, going to a conference alters the creation of collaborations. Managerial Summary Managers face important decisions with long‐term strategic ramifications regarding where to locate offices, plants, and R&D centers, as well as how to lay out workspaces inside the firm to enhance knowledge spillover and collaboration. Permanent proximity, however, may be difficult and sometimes impossible to attain. One potential way of overcoming the distance disadvantage in knowledge spillover and tie formation is through temporary colocation events that bring together individuals from distant locations in an environment of temporary proximity. We find that individuals who attend temporary colocation events across organizational boundaries are more likely to collaborate with one another subsequently. Hence, managers of firms should pledge substantial funds for employees to participate in these events so as to impact the subsequent direction of R&D activities.