Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison between Older and Younger People.
25 Jul 2021-International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)-Vol. 18, Iss: 15, pp 7871
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used longitudinal data from Hiroshima University to investigate loneliness before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among older and younger people in Japan and provided evidence that loneliness among both younger and older people increased considerably during the pandemic.
Abstract: The precautionary measures and uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have serious psychological impacts on peoples' mental health. We used longitudinal data from Hiroshima University to investigate loneliness before and during the pandemic among older and younger people in Japan. We provide evidence that loneliness among both older and younger people increased considerably during the pandemic. Although loneliness among younger people is more pervasive, the magnitude of increase in loneliness during the pandemic is higher among older people. Our logit regression analysis shows that age, subjective health status, and feelings of depression are strongly associated with loneliness before and during the pandemic. Moreover, household income and financial satisfaction are associated with loneliness among older people during the pandemic while gender, marital status, living condition, and depression are associated with loneliness among younger people during the pandemic. The evidence of increasing loneliness during the pandemic is concerning for a traditionally well-connected and culturally collectivist society such as Japan. As loneliness has a proven connection with both physical and mental health, we suggest immediate policy interventions to provide mental health support for lonely people so they feel more cared for, secure, and socially connected.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: The authors in this paper conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies to evaluate the global evolution of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that the prevalence of depression and anxiety peaked in April and May 2020.
31 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors identify the prevalence and correlates of loneliness, perceived and objective social isolation in the German population during the COVID-19 pandemic and use logistic regressions to identify the correlates of these three outcomes.
Abstract: Our aim was to identify the prevalence and correlates of loneliness, perceived and objective social isolation in the German population during the COVID-19 pandemic.Data were taken from a representative survey with n = 3075 individuals (18-70 years; August/September 2021). Valid measures were used to quantify the outcomes (loneliness: De Jong Gierveld scale; perceived social isolation: Bude/Lantermann tool; objective social isolation: Lubben Social Network Scale). Multiple logistic regressions were used to identify the correlates of these three outcomes.The prevalence of loneliness was 83.4%, the prevalence of perceived social isolation was 59.1% and the prevalence of objective social isolation was 28.9%. The prevalence rate significantly differed between the subgroups (e.g., the prevalence of perceived social isolation was 73.9% among individuals aged 18-29 years, whereas it was 48.8% among individuals aged 60-70 years). In regression analysis, several correlates of these outcomes were identified (e.g., marital status, age group (with changing signs), migration background, sports activities, or self-rated health).Our study particularly identified very to extraordinarily high prevalence rates for social isolation and loneliness, respectively. Knowledge about the correlates (e.g., age group) may help to address these individuals during the ongoing pandemic.
19 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors shed light on the lessons learned from the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic for healthy and seamless aging for older adults and highlighted the implications for preparedness management and opportunity leveraging.
Abstract: ABSTRACT Aging continues irrespective of event, location, and time; it is a process that does not stop or pause. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the community of older adults as profoundly as any other community. However, communities are not homogenous and older adults as a community are different in their own ways (e.g., digital immigrant baby boomers who are generally not as tech-savvy as digital native millennials (Gen Y) and zoomers (Gen Z); generally have a higher risk of morbidity and mortality, lower physical strength and mobility, and greater vulnerability to public health crises as compared to their younger counterparts). As COVID-19 becomes endemic, it is an opportune time to reflect on the lessons learned from COVID-19 for healthy and seamless aging. This article sheds light on such lessons (i.e., implications for preparedness management and opportunity leveraging) emerging out of the latest articles published during COVID-19 in the current issue of Activities, Adaptation & Aging: Dignified and Purposeful Living for Older Adults.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors measured the prevalence of loneliness among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and examined pre-pandemic predictors and pandemic experiences associated with loneliness.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors investigated the longitudinal changes in mental health from pre-COVID-19 to during the pandemic (summer 2020), considering national restriction levels across 26 European countries and Israel.
7 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: A short loneliness scale developed specifically for use on a telephone survey is described, finding that objective and subjective isolation are related, indicating that the quantitative and qualitative aspects of social relationships are distinct.
Abstract: Most studies of social relationships in later life focus on the amount of social contact, not on individuals' perceptions of social isolation. However, loneliness is likely to be an important aspect of aging. A major limiting factor in studying loneliness has been the lack of a measure suitable for large-scale social surveys. This article describes a short loneliness scale developed specifically for use on a telephone survey. The scale has three items and a simplified set of response categories but appears to measure overall loneliness quite well. The authors also document the relationship between loneliness and several commonly used measures of objective social isolation. As expected, they find that objective and subjective isolation are related. However, the relationship is relatively modest, indicating that the quantitative and qualitative aspects of social relationships are distinct. This result suggests the importance of studying both dimensions of social relationships in the aging process.
2,513 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that loneliness and depressive symptomatology can act in a synergistic effect to diminish well-being in middle-aged and older adults.
Abstract: The extent to which loneliness is a unique risk factor for depressive symptoms was determined in 2 population-based studies of middle-aged to older adults, and the possible causal influences between loneliness and depressive symptoms were examined longitudinally in the 2nd study. In Study 1, a nationally representative sample of persons aged 54 and older completed a telephone interview as part of a study of health and aging. Higher levels of loneliness were associated with more depressive symptoms, net of the effects of age, gender, ethnicity, education, income, marital status, social support, and perceived stress. In Study 2, detailed measures of loneliness, social support, perceived stress, hostility, and demographic characteristics were collected over a 3-year period from a population-based sample of adults ages 50-67 years from Cook County, Illinois. Loneliness was again associated with more depressive symptoms, net of demographic covariates, marital status, social support, hostility, and perceived stress. Latent variable growth models revealed reciprocal influences over time between loneliness and depressive symptomatology. These data suggest that loneliness and depressive symptomatology can act in a synergistic effect to diminish well-being in middle-aged and older adults.
1,722 citations
TL;DR: It is highlighted that there is consistent evidence linking social isolation and loneliness to worse cardiovascular and mental health outcomes and Prevention strategies should therefore be developed across the public and voluntary sectors, using an asset-based approach.
1,095 citations
TL;DR: Loneliness is associated with an increased risk of late-life dementia but not with its leading causes, and was robustly associated with cognitive decline and development of AD.
Abstract: Context Social isolation in old age has been associated with risk of developing dementia, but the risk associated with perceived isolation, or loneliness, is not well understood. Objective To test the hypothesis that loneliness is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer disease (AD). Design Longitudinal clinicopathologic cohort study with up to 4 years of annual in-home follow-up. Participants A total of 823 older persons free of dementia at enrollment were recruited from senior citizen facilities in and around Chicago, Ill. Loneliness was assessed with a 5-item scale at baseline (mean +/- SD, 2.3 +/- 0.6) and annually thereafter. At death, a uniform postmortem examination of the brain was conducted to quantify AD pathology in multiple brain regions and the presence of cerebral infarctions. Main outcome measures Clinical diagnosis of AD and change in previously established composite measures of global cognition and specific cognitive functions. Results During follow-up, 76 subjects developed clinical AD. Risk of AD was more than doubled in lonely persons (score 3.2, 90th percentile) compared with persons who were not lonely (score 1.4, 10th percentile), and controlling for indicators of social isolation did not affect the finding. Loneliness was associated with lower level of cognition at baseline and with more rapid cognitive decline during follow-up. There was no significant change in loneliness, and mean degree of loneliness during the study was robustly associated with cognitive decline and development of AD. In 90 participants who died and in whom autopsy of the brain was performed, loneliness was unrelated to summary measures of AD pathology or to cerebral infarction. Conclusion Loneliness is associated with an increased risk of late-life dementia but not with its leading causes.
1,084 citations
Book•
01 Aug 2008TL;DR: Cacioppo et al. as discussed by the authors showed that a sense of isolation or social rejection disrupts not only our thinking abilities and will power but also our immune systems, and can be as damaging as obesity or smoking.
Abstract: University of Chicago social neuroscientist John T. Cacioppo unveils his pioneering research on the startling effects of loneliness: a sense of isolation or social rejection disrupts not only our thinking abilities and will power but also our immune systems, and can be as damaging as obesity or smoking. A blend of biological and social science, this book demonstrates that, as individuals and as a society, we have everything to gain, and everything to lose, in how well or how poorly we manage our need for social bonds.
775 citations