Loneliness Among US Adults Aged ≥55 Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic : Findings From the COVID-19 Coping Study
| Autor: | Lindsay C. Kobayashi, Jessica M. Finlay, Carly A. Joseph, Jasdeep S. Kler, Brendan Q. O’Shea |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Gerontology
Male Coping (psychology) 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Health Status Health outcomes 050105 experimental psychology 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Pandemic Adaptation Psychological medicine Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences 030212 general & internal medicine Social isolation Pandemics Depression (differential diagnoses) Aged Aged 80 and over business.industry Depression SARS-CoV-2 Loneliness Research 05 social sciences Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health COVID-19 Middle Aged United States Social Isolation Socioeconomic Factors Communicable Disease Control Female medicine.symptom business |
| Zdroj: | Public Health Rep |
| ISSN: | 1468-2877 |
| Popis: | Objectives Loneliness is associated with increased risks of adverse health outcomes among middle-aged and older adults. We estimated the prevalence of loneliness and identified key sociodemographic, employment, living, and health-related risk factors for loneliness among adults aged ≥55 during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, when much of the country was under shelter-in-place orders. Methods We collected data from online questionnaires in the COVID-19 Coping Study, a national study of 6938 US adults aged ≥55 from April 2 through May 31, 2020. We estimated the population-weighted prevalence of loneliness (scores ≥6 of 9 on the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale), overall and by sociodemographic, employment, living, and health-related factors. We used population-weighted modified Poisson regression models to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% CIs for the associations between these factors and loneliness, adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, and education level. Results Overall, we estimated that 29.5% (95% CI, 27.9%31.3%) of US adults aged ≥55 were considered high in loneliness in April and May 2020. In population-weighted adjusted models, loneliness was the most prevalent among those who reported depression, who were not married or in a relationship, who lived alone, and who were unemployed at the onset of the pandemic. Conclusions We identified subpopulations of middle-aged and older adults who were vulnerable to loneliness during a period when COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders were in place across most of the country. These insights may inform the allocation of resources to mitigate an unintended health consequence during times of restricted activity. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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