Regional disparities in food security and depression among single-person households in the Republic of Korea.

BACKGROUND: Single-person households constitute over 40% of all households in the Republic of Korea and are more vulnerable to food insecurity and depression than multi-person households. There is a lack of research on examining whether regional characteristics are associated with the degree of food insecurity and depression among single-person households. This study aimed to examine the regional disparities in food security and depression among single-person households in the Republic of Korea. METHODS: A total of 227,873 adults from the 2019 Korean Community Health Survey was included in the analysis. According to population density and poverty rate, the residence of the participants was classified into four regions: metropolitan areas with high population density were classified into areas with low poverty rates (Region 1) and high poverty rates (Region 2), and provinces with low population density were classified into areas with low poverty rates (Region 3) and high poverty rates (Region 4). Using a single item of household food security, those who had experienced a lack of food due to financial difficulties over the past year were classified as food insecure. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the risk of food insecurity and depression according to regional characteristics were calculated after adjusting for potential confounding variables. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounding variables, single-person households in regions with high population density, Regions 1 and 2, had 1.16 times (95% CI = 1.04-1.30) and 1.43 times (95% CI = 1.27-1.61) higher odds of food insecurity, respectively, compared to those in Region 4. Single-person households in regions with low poverty rates, Regions 1 and 3, had 1.54 times (95% CI = 1.34-1.77) and 1.21 times (95% CI = 1.01-1.46) higher odds of depression, respectively, than those in Region 4. Among those who lived alone, the middle-aged, having low income, receiving livelihood benefits, or having a low educational attainment had higher odds of experiencing both food insecurity and depression than their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: As the risk of food insecurity and depression in single-person households differs according to regional characteristics, local governments need to implement policies for single-person households in consideration of these distinct characteristics.

Impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on single-person households in South Korea.

Using nationally representative income and expenditure data from South Korea, we show that single-person households suffered a much greater decrease in household income and expenditure compared to multi-persons households during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Negative effects on income were largest for the single-person households in ages 50-64, mostly driven by decreases in earned income rather than business income. There was no corresponding decrease in consumption expenditures, however, other than on transportation expenditure for young men. Notably, there were significant decreases in non-consumption expenditures that are related to formal and informal consumption-smoothing mechanisms, such as spending on insurances, pensions, and household transfers. Our findings highlight the disproportionately negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the middle-aged single-person households. With reduced spending on consumption-smoothing mechanisms, this group is likely to be even more vulnerable to negative income shocks in the future.

Eating together and eating alone: meal arrangements in British households.

Sociology traditionally accounts for eating in terms of the social organization of meals, their provision and consumption. A recurrent public concern is that the meal is being subverted. This paper examines meal arrangements in British households in 2012, drawing on an online survey in the format of a food diary administered to 2784 members of a supermarket consumer panel. It charts the organization of contemporary eating occasions, paying attention to socio-demographic variation in practice. Especially, it explores companionless meals, putting them in contexts of food provisioning and temporal rhythms. Findings show that eating alone is associated with simpler, quicker meals, and that it takes place most commonly in the morning and midday. Those living alone eat alone more often, but at similar meal times, and they take longer over their lone meals. Comparison with a similar study in 1955-6 suggests some fragmentation or relaxation in collective schedules. The implications are not straightforward, and the causes probably lie more in institutional shifts than personal preferences. Declining levels of commensality are, however, associated with a reduction in household size and, especially in households with children, difficulties of coordinating family members' schedules.

Prediction model of quality of life using the decision tree model in older adult single-person households: a secondary data analysis.

Background: Attention is drawn to the subjective health status and quality of life of older adult single-person households, whose number is gradually increasing as factors including low fertility, increased life expectancy, aging, and household miniaturization interact. Objective: The study was to identify predictors that affect the quality of life of single-person households aged 65 years or older and living in South Korea. Methods: A secondary data analysis design was used. Data included physical, mental, social, and demographic characteristics, subjective health status, and quality of life parameters of 1,029 older adult single-person households surveyed by the Korea Health Panel in 2019. For analysis, the predictive model was evaluated using split-sample validation and the ROC curve. The area under the curve after the decision tree analysis was calculated. Final nodes predicting the quality of life of older adult single-person households were derived. Results: Significant predictors were identified in this order: subjective health status, chronic disease, income, and age. Subjective health status was the most important factor influencing quality of life (△ p < 0.001, x2 = 151.774). The first combination that perceived high quality of life of older adult single-person households was the case of high subjective health status and no chronic disease, followed by the case of high subjective health status, presence of chronic disease, and high income. Conclusion: This study confirmed that subjective health status and chronic disease are essential factors for quality of life among the four related indicators of quality of life presented by the OECD. In nursing practice, nurses need to pay attention the factors influencing quality of life of older adult single-person households. Especially, nursing practice for older adult single-person households needs to be focused on improving subjective health status and on relieving chronic disease.

Identification of Risk Groups for and Factors Affecting Metabolic Syndrome in South Korean Single-Person Households Using Latent Class Analysis and Machine Learning Techniques: Secondary Analysis Study.

BACKGROUND: The rapid increase of single-person households in South Korea is leading to an increase in the incidence of metabolic syndrome, which causes cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, due to lifestyle changes. It is necessary to analyze the complex effects of metabolic syndrome risk factors in South Korean single-person households, which differ from one household to another, considering the diversity of single-person households. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify the factors affecting metabolic syndrome in single-person households using machine learning techniques and categorically characterize the risk factors through latent class analysis (LCA). METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 10-year secondary data obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2009-2018). We selected 1371 participants belonging to single-person households. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 25.0; IBM Corp), Mplus (version 8.0; Muthen & Muthen), and Python (version 3.0; Plone & Python). We applied 4 machine learning algorithms (logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, and extreme gradient boost) to identify important factors and then applied LCA to categorize the risk groups of metabolic syndromes in single-person households. RESULTS: Through LCA, participants were classified into 4 groups (group 1: intense physical activity in early adulthood, group 2: hypertension among middle-aged female respondents, group 3: smoking and drinking among middle-aged male respondents, and group 4: obesity and abdominal obesity among middle-aged respondents). In addition, age, BMI, obesity, subjective body shape recognition, alcohol consumption, smoking, binge drinking frequency, and job type were investigated as common factors that affect metabolic syndrome in single-person households through machine learning techniques. Group 4 was the most susceptible and at-risk group for metabolic syndrome (odds ratio 17.67, 95% CI 14.5-25.3; P<.001), and obesity and abdominal obesity were the most influential risk factors for metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified risk groups and factors affecting metabolic syndrome in single-person households through machine learning techniques and LCA. Through these findings, customized interventions for each generational risk factor for metabolic syndrome can be implemented, leading to the prevention of metabolic syndrome, which causes cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In conclusion, this study contributes to the prevention of metabolic syndrome in single-person households by providing new insights and priority groups for the development of customized interventions using classification.

Identifying the Group Vulnerable to Unmet Medical Needs Due to Food Security: According to Children in the Household.

OBJECTIVE: Adults may experience unmet medical needs for various reasons. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of food security on unmet medical needs according to the presence of children in the household of adults, as well as to identify the medically vulnerable group considering individual and household characteristics. METHODS: This study was conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 2013-2015 and 2019-2020. The subjects of the study were 23,069 adults 19 years of age or older, and were divided into two groups according to whether or not children were included in the household. In order to observe the association between food security and unmet medical needs, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. In addition, a subgroup analysis was performed in consideration of individual and household characteristics. RESULTS: When food security was unstable for households with children, or without children, there was a high correlation with unmet medical needs. Considering individual and household characteristics, in groups with lower age and household income level, or higher number of members in household and subjective health status, food security was strongly correlated with unmet medical needs in households with children. Contrarily, households without children showed a high correlation in the opposite characteristics of households with children, excluding household income level. CONCLUSION: Food security was highly correlation with unmet medical needs regardless of whether or not children were included in the household. However, according to the individual and household characteristics of households with and without children, the relationship between food security and unmet medical needs was found to be different. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a health policy that can increase access to medical services in consideration of food security and individual and household characteristics depending on whether or not children are included in the household.

Material Hardship and the Living Arrangements of Older Americans.

This study investigates the extent to which the household living arrangements of older adults influences their experiences of material hardship. Using data from the 2014 Panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we run linear probability models with individual fixed effects to estimate the likelihood that a change in living arrangements predicts a change in food insecurity, housing hardship and utility hardship. Although household living arrangements are associated with reports of material hardship for older adults, individual fixed effect models point to a reduced role for the change in living arrangements on the change in the probability of experiencing material hardship. For older adults, we find that moving into a non-family household increases the risk of housing hardship. This study illustrates how the risk of material hardship related to family living arrangements changes over the life course. We call for increased attention to the risk of material hardship for older adults living alone, those in multigenerational living arrangements, and non-family households.

People's Perception of Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in Japan.

This study aims to examine people's perception of well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan and quantitatively clarify key factors towards realizing evidence-based policymaking. In March 2022, 400 participants responded to a survey conducted through Rakuten Insight. The authors applied an ordinal logistic regression (OLR), followed by principal component analysis (PCA), to create a new compound indicator (CI) to represent people's perception of well-being during the pandemic in addition to ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with a forward-backward stepwise selection method, where the dependent variable is the principal component score of the first principal component (PC1), while the independent variables are the same as the abovementioned OLR. Consequently, while analyzing OLR, some independent variables showed statistical significance, while the CI provided an option to grasp people's perception of well-being. Furthermore, family structure was statistically significant in all cases of OLR and OLS. Moreover, in terms of the standardized coefficients (beta) of OLS, the family structure had the greatest impact on the CI. Based on the study results, the authors advocate that the Japanese government should pay more attention to single-person households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disability and the household context: Findings for the United States from the public Use Microdata Sample of the American Community Survey.

Introduction: Based on questions about impairments and activity limitations, the American Community Survey shows that roughly 13% of the U.S. population is experiencing disability. As most people live in households with other persons, this study explores disability at the household level. Considering the literature on household decision-making, solidarity, and capabilities in disability, this analysis of the household context of disability takes into account residential settings, household composition, and urban-rural differences. Method: The 2015-2019 ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), which shows persons with disability (PwD) and persons without disability (PwoD), also indicates household membership, used here to separately identify PwoD as those living in households with persons with disability (PwoD_HHwD) and those in households without any household member with disability (PwoD_HHwoD). Relationship variables reveal the composition of households with and without disabilities. An adaption of Beale's rural-urban continuum code for counties is used to approximate rural-urban differences with ACS PUMS data. Results: Solo living is two times as common among persons with disability than among persons without disability, and higher in rural than urban areas. In addition to 43 million PwD, there are another 42 million PwoD_HHwD. Two times as many persons are impacted by disability, either of their own or that of a household member, than shown by an analysis of individual-level disability. For family households, differences in the composition of households with and without disabilities are considerable with much greater complexities in the makeup of families with disability. The presence of multiple generations stands out. Adult sons or daughters without disability play an important role. Modest urban-rural differences exist in the composition of family households with disability, with a greater presence of multigenerational households in large cities. Discussion: This research reveals the much wider scope of household-level disability than indicated by disability of individuals alone. The greater complexity and multigenerational makeup of households with disability imply intergenerational solidarity, reciprocity, and resource sharing. Household members without disability may add to the capabilities of persons with disabilities. For the sizeable share of PwD living solo, there is concern about their needs being met.

Living alone and depression in a developing country context: Longitudinal evidence from South Africa.

In South Africa, single-person households were a household type enforced by apartheid legislation, designed to restrict the "influx" of Africans into "white" and typically urban areas of the country. Yet the increase in living alone has been one of the most marked demographic trends of the post-apartheid period. The trend, which has occurred alongside the persistence in individual labor migration patterns and a decline in rates of union formation, has been driven by changes among working-age adults, rather than among older adults. This is the first empirical study to investigate the mental health implications of living alone among all adults in South Africa using national longitudinal data. The data come from five waves of the panel household survey, the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), conducted from 2008 to 2017. Information on depressive symptoms was collected from all adults (15 years and older), who were asked the ten questions which make up the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D 10). Adults who lived alone reported significantly higher depression scores than other adults, in the pooled ordinary least squares models, and in the fixed effects model, which controlled for any unobservable, time-invariant differences between the two groups of adults. Vulnerability to depression was moderated by adults' preferences to continue living in their area of residence (as a measure of their social integration), but the positive relationship remained sizeable and significant across all models. The findings shed light on a further dimension of the migrant labor system in South Africa, which has not received adequate attention in the empirical literature, viz. the mental health implications for adults of solo migration, and they provide further motivation for the provision of affordable and safe family housing in local areas of employment.

Relationships of Dietary Factors with Obesity, Hypertension, and Diabetes by Regional Type among Single-Person Households in Korea.

This study aims to investigate whether dietary factors are differentially associated with metabolic abnormalities by regional type among single-person households in Korea. A total of 685,327 Korean adults aged ≥19 years who participated in the household and individual surveys of the Korea Community Health Survey 2015-2017 are included in the analysis. The regions are divided into three categories: metropolitan areas, mid-sized cities, and rural areas. Using multivariable logistic regressions, the adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for metabolic abnormalities are estimated by regional type after adjusting for covariates. Among the total study population, 12.21% occupy single-person households, and 47.5%, 25.1%, and 27.4% of those single-person households are in rural areas, mid-sized cities, and metropolitan areas, respectively. Compared with single-person households in rural areas, those in mid-sized and metropolitan cities tend to be more familiar with and frequently refer to nutrition labels, skip breakfast, and experience food insecurity. Regional differences are found in the associations of dietary factors and behavior with obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. The use of nutritional fact labels is associated with obesity and hypertension in single-person households in rural areas, and the degree of association between food insecurity and diabetes is highest among single-person households in metropolitan areas. Our findings suggest that policies for improving unhealthy dietary factors by regional type are needed to reduce regional health disparities among single-person households in Korea.

Relationship between Mental Health and House Sharing: Evidence from Seoul.

While the association between general housing and mental health has been well documented, little is known about the mental health outcomes of house sharing. As shared housing has been viewed as an economically and socially viable housing option for young adults, a broader understanding of how shared housing affects the residents' quality of life, including mental health, is needed. In this context, this study aims to provide empirical evidence about the relationship between mental health and house sharing after controlling for residents' self-selection. We conducted a survey of 834 young single adults living in shared housing and non-shared housing in Seoul, Korea. Then, to control for residential self-selection, we applied the residential dissonance framework. The main findings of this study were two-fold: first, house-sharers with a positive attitude toward shared housing were more likely to respond that their mental health status improved after they started residing in shared housing; second, if young adults are forced to live in shared housing, this could increase the potential risk of social dysfunction of house-sharers. Based on these findings, we suggest policy measures for shared housing, including pre-occupancy interviews, resident behavior codes, and fostering a livable dwelling environment to ensure a healthier life in shared living arrangements.

Comparison of Dietary Behaviors and the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Single- and Multi-Person Households among Korean Adults.

Changes in household dynamics in Korea, such as the transition from multi- to single-person households, have led to changes in individuals' dietary behavior patterns and health status. Thus, this study aimed to compare dietary behaviors and determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) as well as explore factors associated with MetS according to household type among Korean adults. Using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2014-2018, we included 21,944 Korean adults with available health examination and dietary recall data. Based on self-reported information, individuals were divided into two household types: single- and multi-person households. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for MetS and its components after adjusting for potential covariates. Among the study population, 9.19% and 90.81% lived in single-person and multi-person households, respectively. Individuals in single-person households had a higher energy intake overall and a greater percentage of energy from animal protein; total, saturated, and monounsaturated fats; and animal source foods and a lower percentage of energy from carbohydrates, plant protein, and plant source foods than those from multi-person households (all, p < 0.05). Individuals living in single-person rather than multi-person households were more likely to consume milk/dairy products, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, oils/fats, and others but were less likely to consume vegetables/mushrooms, fruits, seaweeds, and fish/shellfish (all, p < 0.05). Living alone was associated with higher energy intake from main meals and foods prepared away from home but a lower dietary variety score and fewer total main meals consumed (all, p < 0.05). Skipping breakfast, frequent eating out, food insecurity, and MetS combination phenotypes significantly differed by household type. Individuals living alone had higher odds of MetS (AOR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.02-1.29), abdominal obesity (AOR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.01-1.28), elevated blood pressure (AOR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.12-1.47), and elevated fasting blood glucose (AOR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.05-1.33) than those living with others. Compared with those in multi-person households, individuals in single-person households tend to have health and dietary behaviors that increase vulnerability to MetS; therefore, establishing health care strategies and nutrition policies according to household type is necessary.

Analysis of the Difference in Nutrients Intake, Dietary Behaviors and Food Intake Frequency of Single- and Non Single-Person Households: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2014–2016 / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to compare the dietary life of single- and non single-person households in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). METHODS: A nationally representative sample of 20,421 19-64-year-olds who had 24-hour recall data was taken from the 2014-2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Single- and non single-persons were compared for nutrient intake, dietary behaviors, food consumption patterns, nutrition education and confirm nutrition label. RESULTS: The dietary intakes of dietary fiber and iron were lower in single-person households than in non single-person households. The lower the level of education and income, the lower the nutrient intake of single-person households. In the case of those aged 19 to 29, the breakfast skipping rate was higher in single-person households than in non single-person households. The higher the education level, the higher the breakfast skipping rate and the eating out frequency in the single-person households. In the food intake survey, the frequency of healthy food intake in single-person households was much lower than that of non single-person households. The confirmation rate of nutrition labeling was lower in single-person households than in non single-person households. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that single-person households have poorer health-nutritional behaviors than multi-person households. Therefore, a nutrition education program based on the data of this study needs to be developed for health promotion of single-person households.

Analysis of the Difference in Nutrients Intake, Dietary Behaviors and Food Intake Frequency of Single- and Non Single-Person Households: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2014–2016 / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to compare the dietary life of single- and non single-person households in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). METHODS: A nationally representative sample of 20,421 19-64-year-olds who had 24-hour recall data was taken from the 2014-2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Single- and non single-persons were compared for nutrient intake, dietary behaviors, food consumption patterns, nutrition education and confirm nutrition label. RESULTS: The dietary intakes of dietary fiber and iron were lower in single-person households than in non single-person households. The lower the level of education and income, the lower the nutrient intake of single-person households. In the case of those aged 19 to 29, the breakfast skipping rate was higher in single-person households than in non single-person households. The higher the education level, the higher the breakfast skipping rate and the eating out frequency in the single-person households. In the food intake survey, the frequency of healthy food intake in single-person households was much lower than that of non single-person households. The confirmation rate of nutrition labeling was lower in single-person households than in non single-person households. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that single-person households have poorer health-nutritional behaviors than multi-person households. Therefore, a nutrition education program based on the data of this study needs to be developed for health promotion of single-person households.

The Effects of the Economic Characteristics of Single-person Households on the Food Service Industry / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the economic characteristics of single-person households and explain the effects of them on the food service industry. METHODS: For this paper, I analysed the data related with single-person households and the food service industry in two surveys, Household Income and Expenditure Survey and Wholesale and Retail Trade Survey published by Statistics Korea from 2006 to 2015, with an empirical test performed utilizing these data. The indicators of the age of householders, disposable income per capita, and the rate of household of worker were compared between single and multi-person households. Furthermore, sales and the number of establishments in the food service industry were used as industry-variables, and disposable income, eating-out expenses and the rate of single-person households as the household-variables were used in a panel analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that household incomes were lower, age of householder was higher, and the percentage of household of worker was lower in single-person households in contrast to multi-person households. According to the empirical analysis, eating-out expenses of single-person households, in comparison to multi-person households, has significantly positive effects on the growth of the food service industry. This means that the recent trend of increasing numbers of single-person households may help the growth of the food service industry. CONCLUSIONS: The growth in the rate of single-person households has been one of the most striking demographic shifts in recent decades. Their economic characteristics and the effects were analyzed to give the managers in the food service industry and the policy-makers useful information in dealing with this new trend. Moreover, in considering the fact that single-person households eat out more frequently than multi-person households, the food service business should develop the managerial strategies focused on acclimatizing to single-person households.

Idoso, família e domicílio: uma revisão narrativa sobre a decisão de morar sozinho / Anciano, familia y domicilio: una revisión narrativa sobre la decisión de vivir solo / Elderly persons, family and household: a narrative review of the decision to live alone

Neste artigo procura-se estabelecer bases de argumentação para melhor entender as razões que levam um idoso a morar sozinho e como se processam as transferências (fluxo de recursos, ações e informações que se trocam e circulam) quando vive sozinho. Para tanto, são revisados e discutidos fatores determinantes dos arranjos domiciliares dos idosos, incluindo aspectos demográficos, socioeconômicos e de saúde, com ênfase nos domicílios unipessoais. Destacam-se pontos que permeiam as transferências entre idosos e seus familiares, tais como características das transferências intergeracionais, diferenças entre os diversos apoios recebidos, sexo do idoso. O estudo consistiu de uma revisão narrativa, cujos resultados apontaram que melhores condições socioeconômicas e de saúde, idade mais avançada e ausência de filhos parecem contribuir para que o idoso more sozinho. Contudo, houve divergências nos resultados dos estudos analisados quanto aos fatores associados à formação de domicílios unipessoais de idosos. Embora as transferências possam se dar independentemente do arranjo domiciliar do idoso, as que ocorrem entre os membros de um mesmo domicílio parecem ser mais frequentes e, talvez por isso, mais discutidas. Os idosos que moram sozinhos, apesar de participarem das transferências, estão mais propensos a receber cuidado formal, comparativamente àqueles que residem com outras pessoas.

En este artículo se intentan establecer una bases de argumentación para entender mejor las razones que llevan a un anciano a vivir solo y cómo se procesan las transferencias (flujo de recursos, acciones e información que se intercambia y circula) cuando vive solo. Para ello, se revisan y discuten factores determinantes del manejo de los domicilios de los ancianos, incluyendo aspectos demográficos, socioeconómicos y de salud, con énfasis en los domicilios unipersonales. Se destacan puntos que van más allá de las transferencias entre ancianos y sus familiares, tales como características de las transferencias intergeneracionales, diferencias entre los diversos apoyos recibidos, sexo del anciano. El estudio consistió en una revisión narrativa, cuyos resultados apuntaron que unas mejores condiciones socioeconómicas y de salud, edad más avanzada y ausencia de hijos parecen contribuir a que el anciano viva solo. Sin embargo, hubo divergencias en los resultados de los estudios analizados, en cuanto a los factores asociados a la formación de domicilios unipersonales de enfermos. Pese a que las transferencias puedan producirse independientemente del manejo del domicilio del anciano, las que se producen entre los miembros de un mismo domicilio parecen ser más frecuentes y, tal vez por esto, más discutidas. Los ancianos que viven solos, a pesar de que participan en las transferencias, son más propensos a recibir cuidado formal, en comparación con aquellos que residen con otras personas.

The authors seek to establish bases of argumentation in order to better understand the reasons that lead elderly citizens to live alone and how transfers take place (flow of resources, actions and information that is exchanged and circulated) when such persons do live alone. Determining factors are reviewed and discussed regarding the household arrangements of elderly citizens, including demographic, socioeconomic and health factors, with emphasis on single-person households. Factors that permeate transfers between elderly citizens and their families are underscored, such as the characteristics of intergenerational transfers, differences among the various types of support provided, and the gender of the elderly persons. The study consists of a narrative review and the results indicate that comfortable socioeconomic and health conditions, more advanced age and lack of children seem to contribute to an elderly person's decision to live alone. However, there were differences in the results of the studies analyzed in terms of the factors associated with the formation of single-person households among elderly persons. Although transfers generally take place regardless of the elderly person's household arrangements, those that take place among members of a single household seem to be more frequent and, perhaps for this reason, are discussed at greater length. Even when elderly persons who live alone participate in transfers, they are more likely to receive formal care than those who live with other persons.