Loneliness and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic
Open accessAbstract
Loneliness and social isolation are associated with adverse physical and psychological consequences which are particularly prevalent in older persons. During this unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must follow social distancing guidelines to protect ourselves and to reduce the spread of coronavirus. At the same time, it is crucial to maintain social connections with each other, especially with older persons, to help cope and reduce the negative consequences of loneliness and social isolation. It is important to develop new strategies (e.g. virtual health care and new government policy) to address loneliness and social isolation among older adults for the post-pandemic era.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Social isolation is one of the most pervasive negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Social isolation is one of the most pervasive negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic (Hwang et al., 2020).”
From RESILIENCE, COPING, AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ACROSS THE GLOBE – AN UPDATE: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? (2023) · cites this paper as Hwang et al., 2020
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Social isolation, loneliness, and all-cause mortality in older men and women
Steptoe, A., Shankar, A., Demakakos, P., & Wardle, J. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1219686110 · Cited by 2,503 · see citing works
Leigh-Hunt, N., Bagguley, D., Bash, K., Turner, V., Turnbull, S., Valtorta, N., & Caan, W. (2017) · Public Health · doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2017.07.035 · Cited by 2,158 · see citing works
SARS control and psychological effects of quarantine, Toronto, Canada
Hawryluck, L., Gold, W. L., Robinson, S., Pogorski, S., Galea, S., & Styra, R. (2004) · Emerging Infectious Diseases · doi:10.3201/eid1007.030703 · Cited by 1,929 · see citing works
Kuiper, J. S., Zuidersma, M., Oude Voshaar, R. C., Zuidema, S. U., van den Heuvel, E. R., Stolk, R. P., & Smidt, N. (2015) · Ageing Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.arr.2015.04.006 · Cited by 1,090 · see citing works
Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Cardiovascular Health
Xia, N., & Li, H. (2017) · Antioxidants and Redox Signaling · doi:10.1089/ars.2017.7312 · Cited by 508 · see citing works
Do Lonely Days Invade the Nights? Potential Social Modulation of Sleep Efficiency
Cacioppo, J. T., Hawkley, L. C., Berntson, G. G., Ernst, J. M., Gibbs, A. C., Stickgold, R., & Hobson, J. A. (2002) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00469 · Cited by 445 · see citing works
Battling the Modern Behavioral Epidemic of Loneliness
Jeste, D. V., Lee, E., & Cacioppo, S. (2020) · JAMA Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0027 · Cited by 367 · see citing works
Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Health Behaviors at Older Ages: Longitudinal Cohort Study
Kobayashi, L. C., & Steptoe, A. (2018) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1093/abm/kax033 · Cited by 351 · see citing works
A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood
Fässberg, M. M., Orden, K. A. V., Duberstein, P., Erlangsen, A., Lapierre, S., Bodner, E., Canetto, S. S., Leo, D. D., Szanto, K., & Waern, M. (2012) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph9030722 · Cited by 342 · see citing works
Lee, E. E., Depp, C., Palmer, B. W., Glorioso, D., Daly, R., Liu, J., Tu, X. M., Kim, H.-C., Tarr, P., Yamada, Y., et al. (2019) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610218002120 · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Heffner, K. L., Waring, M. E., Roberts, M. B., Eaton, C. B., & Gramling, R. (2011) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.016 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
Yu, B., Steptoe, A., Chen, L.-J., Chen, Y.-H., Lin, C.-H., & Ku, P.-W. (2020) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000000777 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Oxford COVID-19 Evidence Service (2020). Global Covid-19 Case Fatality Rates. May 1, 2020. Available at: https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/global-covid-19-case-fatality-rates/; accessed May 12, 2020.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the general population: a systematic review
Xiong, J., Lipsitz, O., Nasri, F., Lui, L. M. W., Gill, H., Phan, L., Chen-Li, D., Iacobucci, M., Ho, R., Majeed, A., et al. (2020) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.001 · Cited by 5,204 · see citing works
“Keeping in touch with friends and family by phone calls or video calls during quarantine can ease the distress from social isolation (Hwang et al., 2020).”
BackgroundMalik, P., Patel, K., Pinto, C., Jaiswal, R., Tirupathi, R., Pillai, S., & Patel, U. K. (2021) · Journal of Medical Virology · doi:10.1002/jmv.27309 · Cited by 670 · see citing works
“In addition, many patients who return from the hospital and have ongoing symptoms may have faced prolonged social isolation which in turn negatively impacts their mental health and their perceived quality of life.(33) Even though any one of these factors alone can reduce the quality of life (QOL), the combination of a…”
BackgroundLi, L. Z., & Wang, S. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113267 · Cited by 551 · see citing works
“…severe psychiatric disorders to some people (Galea et al., 2020), much more people bear the emotional burdens of loneliness (Banerjee and Rai, 2020; Hwang et al., 2020; Killgore et al., 2020a) and develop minor psychiatric disorders that cannot be fully captured by the specific clinical measures…”
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Older Adults: Rapid Review
Lebrasseur, A., Fortin-Bédard, N., Lettre, J., Raymond, É., Bussières, È.-L., Lapierre, N., Faieta, J. M., Vincent, C., Duchesne, L., Ouellet, M., et al. (2021) · JMIR Aging · doi:10.2196/26474 · Cited by 397 · see citing works
Toscano, F., & Zappalà, S. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su12239804 · Cited by 382 · see citing works
“The massive application of telework has created a kind of “a trouble shared is a trouble halved” effect [15], therefore making the phenomenon not limited to a few people but applicable to thousands of workers who had to use technologies to communicate and reduce the sense of social isolation and loneliness during the…”
BackgroundPhysical Activity of Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Scoping Review
Rossi, L., Behme, N., & Breuer, C. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph182111440 · Cited by 331 · see citing works
“While these restrictions effectively slowed down the spread of the virus and contained the disease, they came with negative externalities as individuals were forced to stay home, which increased the risk of social isolation [2].”
BackgroundSu, Y., Rao, W., Li, M., Caron, G., D’Arcy, C., & Meng, X. (2022) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610222000199 · Cited by 283 · see citing works
“The literature has accumulated ample evidence on the negative consequences of loneliness and social isolation on a wide range of physical and mental health problems (Hwang et al., 2020; Smith and Victor, 2019).”
BackgroundHickin, N., Käll, A., Shafran, R., Sutcliffe, S., Manzotti, G., & Langan, D. (2021) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102066 · Cited by 273 · see citing works
Varga, T. V., Bu, F., Dissing, A. S., Elsenburg, L. K., Bustamante, J. J. H., Matta, J., van Zon, S. K. R., Brouwer, S., Bültmann, U., Fancourt, D. E., et al. (2021) · The Lancet Regional Health - Europe · doi:10.1016/j.lanepe.2020.100020 · Cited by 264 · see citing works
Future of Mental Health in the Metaverse
Usmani, S. S., Sharath, M., & Mehendale, M. (2022) · General Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/gpsych-2022-100825 · Cited by 262 · see citing works
“22 Even in non-pandemic times, vulnerable populations like the elderly are often restricted in their ability to socialise with family or friends for many reasons.”
BackgroundErjavec, J., & Manfreda, A. (2021) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102867 · Cited by 284 · see citing works
Living with dementia: increased level of caregiver stress in times of COVID-19
Cohen, G., Russo, M. J., Campos, J., & Allegri, R. (2020) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610220001593 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
“Loneliness, boredom, and lack of activities are known factors described in the literature to contribute to anxiety (Hwang et al., 2020).”
Creese, B., Khan, Z., Henley, W., O’Dwyer, S., Corbett, A., Silva, M. V. D., Mills, K., Wright, N., Testad, I., Aarsland, D., et al. (2020) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610220004135 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
van Zoonen, W., & Sivunen, A. E. (2021) · European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1080/1359432x.2021.2002299 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Ogunleye, O. O., Basu, D., Mueller, D., Sneddon, J., Seaton, R. A., Yinka-Ogunleye, A. F., Wamboga, J., Miljković, N., Mwita, J. C., Rwegerera, G. M., et al. (2020) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2020.01205 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Challenges and opportunity in mobility among older adults – key determinant identification
Marešová, P., Krejcar, O., Maskuriy, R., Bakar, N. A. A., Selamat, A., Truhlářová, Z., Horák, J., Joukl, M., & Vítková, L. (2023) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-023-04106-7 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
“In Scopus, the top co-occurring keywords were ‘population dynamics’ (41 occurrences), ‘spatial analysis’ [38], ‘activities’ [26], ‘cognition’ [25], ‘physiology‘ [25], and ‘walking’ [24].”
How COVID-19 reshaped quality of life in cities: A synthesis and implications for urban planning
Mouratidis, K. (2021) · Land Use Policy · doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105772 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Murphy, L., Markey, K., O' Donnell, C., Moloney, M., & Doody, O. (2021) · Archives of Psychiatric Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2021.05.002 · Cited by 166 · see citing works
An overview of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
Chen, P. J., Pusica, Y., Sohaei, D., Prassas, I., & Diamandis, E. P. (2021) · Diagnosis · doi:10.1515/dx-2021-0046 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Disorders. A Critical Review
Clemente‐Suárez, V. J., Martínez–González, M. B., Benítez-Agudelo, J. C., Navarro-Jiménez, E., Beltrán-Velasco, A. I., Ruisoto, P., Arroyo, E. D., Laborde-Cárdenas, C. C., & Tornero-Aguilera, J. F. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph181910041 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
Rauschenberg, C., Schick, A., Goetzl, C., Roehr, S., Riedel-Heller, S. G., Koppe, G., Durstewitz, D., Krumm, S., & Reininghaus, U. (2021) · European Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.17 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
Röhr, S., Reininghaus, U., & Riedel-Heller, S. G. (2020) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-020-01889-x · Cited by 139 · see citing works
“individuals with pre-existing health conditions, individuals with certain personality traits, those with small social networks or those with increased medical or care needs [29].”
BackgroundZhao, Y., Qu, D., Chen, S., & Chi, X. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2022.107424 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Firkey, M. K., Sheinfil, A. Z., & Woolf-King, S. E. (2022) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2020.1869750 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Prevalence & Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence During COVID-19: A Rapid Review
McNeil, A., Hicks, L. J., Yalcinoz-Ucan, B., & Browne, D. T. (2022) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/s10896-022-00386-6 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
“, 2020; ILO, 2020). A systematic review and meta-analysis completed by Yakubovich et al. (2018) found that a low level of education was one of the greatest risk factors for IPV.”
BackgroundRodrigues, N. G., Han, Q., Su, Y., Klainin‐Yobas, P., & Wu, X. V. (2021) · Journal of Advanced Nursing · doi:10.1111/jan.15063 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Alhwaiti, M. (2023) · Applied Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.1080/08839514.2023.2175110 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
“Recently, the educational community has recognized AI’s potential to facilitate learning in various contexts (Hwang et al. 2020).”
BackgroundPandemic fatigue fueled political discontent during the COVID-19 pandemic
Jørgensen, F., Bor, A., Rasmussen, M., Lindholt, M., & Petersen, M. B. (2022) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · doi:10.1073/pnas.2201266119 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness Among Older Adults
Seifert, A., & Hassler, B. (2020) · Frontiers in Sociology · doi:10.3389/fsoc.2020.590935 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
“” Stressful reminders of “being in need” may produce negative self-perceptions, resulting in loneliness (Hwang et al., 2020).”
BackgroundFear of COVID-19 and Mental Health: The Role of Mindfulness in During Times of Crisis
Belen, H. (2022) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-020-00470-2 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Rolandi, E., Vaccaro, R., Abbondanza, S., Casanova, G., Pettinato, L., Colombo, M. M., & Guaita, A. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17217912 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
“Many older adults, however, might not be familiar with these new technologies [5,8,10].”
BackgroundThriving during COVID-19: Predictors of psychological well-being and ways of coping
Tuason, M. T., Güss, C. D., & Boyd, L. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0248591 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
“With the need to significantly decrease face-to-face contact, it comes as no surprise that early studies published during the COVID-19 pandemic found increased feelings of loneliness and social isolation [46].”
BackgroundFace-to-face more important than digital communication for mental health during the pandemic
Stieger, S., Lewetz, D., & Willinger, D. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-34957-4 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Liu, S., Heinzel, S., Haucke, M. N., & Heinz, A. (2021) · Medicina · doi:10.3390/medicina57010053 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
“Moreover, loneliness (or perceived social isolation) has adverse consequences for mental health, aggravating anxiety, depression, and stress-related symptoms [25].”
BackgroundWard, M. D., May, P., Normand, C. E. M., Kenny, R. A., & Nolan, A. (2021) · Age and Ageing · doi:10.1093/ageing/afab004 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
“It is therefore critical that we understand the interplay between loneliness and social isolation so that impactful responses can be developed [7,9].”
BackgroundSystematic review of social prescribing and older adults: where to from here?
Percival, A., Newton, C., Mulligan, K., Petrella, R. J., & Ashe, M. C. (2022) · Family Medicine and Community Health · doi:10.1136/fmch-2022-001829 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Stall, N. M., Johnstone, J., McGeer, A., Dhuper, M., Dunning, J., & Sinha, S. K. (2020) · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2020.07.038 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Wong, P. T. P., Mayer, C.-H., & Arslan, G. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.800308 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
“There is irrefutable evidence that the pandemic has caused immense human suffering globally (CAMH, 2020; Hwang et al., 2020; Andrian and Ming, 2021; Khan et al., 2021).”
BackgroundMacmadu, A., Batthala, S., Gabel, A. M. C., Rosenberg, M., Ganguly, R., Yedinak, J. L., Hallowell, B. D., Scagos, R. P., Samuels, E. A., Cerdá, M., et al. (2021) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.25538 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Seifert, A., Batsis, J. A., & Smith, A. C. (2020) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2020.601595 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Wiwatkunupakarn, N., Pateekhum, C., Aramrat, C., Jirapornchaoren, W., Pinyopornpanish, K., & Angkurawaranon, C. (2022) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2021.1966745 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
“Of special interests in the use of social networking sites (SNSs) as it may help alleviate the negative consequences of social isolation during the COviD19 pandemic (Fakoya et al., 2020; Hwang et al., 2020; Zubatsky et al., 2020).”
BackgroundThe impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK for doctoral and early career researchers
Jackman, P. C., Sanderson, R. A., Haughey, T. J., Brett, C. E., White, N. R., Zile, A., Tyrrell, K., & Byrom, N. (2021) · Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s10734-021-00795-4 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
“Loneliness experienced through the lockdowns is not unique to the research community (Hwang et al., 2020; Killigore et al., 2020), but evidence of this is concerning given that mitigating isolation at the start of an academic career can be pivotal to career prospects (Belkhir et al.”
BackgroundCOVID-19 Social Distancing Measures and Loneliness Among Older Adults
Choi, E. Y., Farina, M. P., Wu, Q., & Ailshire, J. (2021) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/gbab009 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Wilkialis, L., Rodrigues, N. B., Cha, D. S., Siegel, A. N., Majeed, A., Lui, L. M. W., Tamura, J. K., Gill, B., Teopiz, K. M., & McIntyre, R. S. (2021) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci11121620 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
“- Reduced quality of life (applies to both physical and mental aspects) [52] - Impaired functional status/cognition [46,49,51]”
BackgroundInfluentialImpact of COVID-19 on Dementia Caregivers and Factors Associated With their Anxiety Symptoms
Hwang, Y., Connell, L. M., Rajpara, A. R., & Hodgson, N. A. (2021) · American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias® · doi:10.1177/15333175211008768 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
The Negative Impact of Social Media during COVID-19 Pandemic
Lelisho, M. E., Pandey, D., Alemu, B. D., Pandey, B. K., & Tareke, S. A. (2022) · Trends in Psychology · doi:10.1007/s43076-022-00192-5 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
“The older responders are more worried and depressed than the younger ones (Ahmad & Murad, 2020; Gao et al., 2020; Hwang et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2020; Radwan et al., 2021).”
BackgroundMengesha, Z. B., Alloun, E., Weber, D., Smith, M., & Harris, P. J. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19116624 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
“There is evidence that the general population experienced widespread social isolation due to pandemic control lockdown and social distancing measures [56].”
BackgroundLoneliness and COVID-19 preventive behaviours among Japanese adults
Stickley, A., Matsubayashi, T., & Ueda, M. (2020) · Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdaa151 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Loneliness and symptom burden in oncology patients during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Miaskowski, C. A., Paul, S. M., Snowberg, K. E., Abbott, M., Borno, H. T., Chang, S. M., Chen, L. M., Cohen, B., Cooper, B. A., Hammer, M. J., et al. (2021) · Cancer · doi:10.1002/cncr.33603 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Meeting you was a fake: investigating the increase in romance fraud during COVID-19
Buil‐Gil, D., & Zeng, Y. (2021) · Journal of Financial Crime · doi:10.1108/jfc-02-2021-0042 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Predicting depression and anxiety among adults with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wang, K., Manning, R. B., Bogart, K. R., Adler, J. M., Nario‐Redmond, M. R., Ostrove, J. M., & Lowe, S. R. (2022) · Rehabilitation Psychology · doi:10.1037/rep0000434 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Loneliness During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Older Adults With Chronic Conditions
Polenick, C. A., Perbix, E. A., Salwi, S. M., Maust, D. T., Birditt, K. S., & Brooks, J. (2021) · Journal of Applied Gerontology · doi:10.1177/0733464821996527 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
“, social media, video calls) may reduce loneliness with ongoing social distancing (Hwang et al., 2020).”
BackgroundInfluentialHerrmann, W., Oeser, P., Buspavanich, P., Lech, S., Berger, M., & Gellert, P. R. (2022) · Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/aphw.12376 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
“In the general population, elevated levels of loneliness have been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic (Hwang et al., 2020) as well as an increase over the course of the pandemic (Killgore et al., 2020); in the LGBT population, loneliness has been especially reported for adolescents and younger…”
BackgroundOwczarek, M., Nolan, E., Shevlin, M. E., Butter, S., Karatzias, T., McBride, O., Murphy, J., Vallières, F., Bentall, R. P., Martínez, A. P., et al. (2022) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.12851 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
White, S. J., Barello, S., Marco, E. C. D. S., Colombo, C., Eeckman, E., Gilligan, C., Graffigna, G., Jirasevijinda, T., Mosconi, P., Mullan, J., et al. (2020) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2020.12.025 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
The psychological effects of staying home due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Bozdağ, F. (2021) · The Journal of General Psychology · doi:10.1080/00221309.2020.1867494 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
“Although such limitations are typically imposed to protect and preserve public health (by controlling the outbreak), measures of physical distancing, including quarantine and isolation, may have adverse effects on mental health within a society (Hwang et al., 2020).”
BackgroundInfluentialIsraelashvili, J. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648112 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Prosociality in times of separation and loss
Ramkissoon, H. R. (2021) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.11.008 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Kenyon, K., Kinakh, V., & Harrison, J. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-46494-1 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
“Hypothesis 1 of this study is therefore supported and is consistent with the earlier findings 31,32,42,43 and a recent review 44 .”
ResultAlam, F., Meng, T., Rastogi, R., Mendiratta, A., & Attri, R. (2023) · Technological Forecasting and Social Change · doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122973 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Trần, V. Đ. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su132112066 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
“[35] found that older individuals were more sensitive to social isolation and loneliness because they were operationally extremely reliant on family and friends or community service assistance.”
BackgroundFollmann, A., Schollemann, F., Arnolds, A., Weismann, P., Laurentius, T., Rossaint, R., & Czaplik, M. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18094846 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
“The residents of these institutions are also high-risk groups, as 29–72% of COVID-19 deaths in Europe have been among residents of full inpatient facilities [3], more than 95% of the deaths caused by COVID-19 occurred in senior citizens older than 60 [4].”
BackgroundChoi, M., & Choung, H. (2021) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/02654075211029378 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Hansen, T., Nilsen, T. S., Knapstad, M., Skirbekk, V., Skogen, J. C., Vedaa, Ø., & Nes, R. B. (2021) · European Journal of Ageing · doi:10.1007/s10433-021-00648-0 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Dura-Perez, E., Goodman‐Casanova, J. M., Vega-Núñez, A., Guerrero-Pertiñez, G., Moreno, E. V., Garolera, M., Quintana, M., Cuesta‐Vargas, A., Barnestein‐Fonseca, P., Sánchez-Lafuente, C. G., et al. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/30598 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“They can contribute to depression [18] and have an impact on the quality of life and functional dependence [19].”
Joshi, N., & Wende, W. (2022) · Landscape and Urban Planning · doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104418 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Kröger, T. (2022) · Sustainable development goals series · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-97243-1 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Martin, F., Bachert, K. E., Snow, L., Tu, H.-W., Belahbib, J., & Lyn, S. A. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0260676 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
“Such socio-economic factors have led to higher levels of loneliness and social impairment [1, 2].”
BackgroundD’Oliveira, T. C., & Persico, L. (2022) · Applied Ergonomics · doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103894 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Dog Walking and the Social Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness in Older Adults
Carr, D. C., Friedmann, E., Gee, N. R., Gilchrist, C., Sachs‐Ericsson, N., & Koodaly, L. (2021) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani11071852 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“[1] the US presidential election, [2] racial injustice, [3] increases in white nationalism, [4] the economy, [5] lack of respect for the police, [6] the extent to which Americans are divided, and [7] the environment.”
BackgroundMethodIt's Complicated—Adolescent Grief in the Time of Covid-19
Weinstock, L., Dunda, D., Harrington, H., & Nelson, H. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.638940 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
“Social isolation has now become a global policy in the form of social distancing and physical lockdowns, raising concerns about the impact on young people’s mental health (62, 63).”
BackgroundLoneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison between Older and Younger People
Khan, M. S. R., & Kadoya, Y. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18157871 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“Although health authorities asked populations to maintain physical and social distancing, this measure is likely to exacerbate loneliness because social isolation and loneliness tend to occur together [32,33].”
BackgroundGrycuk, E., Chen, Y. S., Almirall‐Sánchez, A., Higgins, D., Galvin, M., Kane, J. P. M., Kinchin, I., LAWLOR, B. A., Rogan, C., Russell, G., et al. (2022) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.5734 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
“Almost all the recent COVID‐19‐related surveys of care burden, loneliness, and social isolation during the pandemic have focused on only a single country or a single health condition, accessed through existing networks of disease‐related stakeholders, rather than more representative respondent sampling.(14,16,36,44,45…”
BackgroundSocial and political trust diverge during a crisis
Aassve, A., Capezzone, T., Cavalli, N., Conzo, P., & Chen, P. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-50898-4 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Bollestad, V., Amland, J.-S., & Olsen, E. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1016368 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Soysal, P., Smith, L., Trott, M., Alexopoulos, P., Barbagallo, M., Tan, S. G., Koyanagi, A., Shenkin, S. D., Veronese, N., & European Society of Geriatric Medicine Special Interest Group in Dementia and Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (2022) · Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1111/psyg.12810 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Pai, N. B., & Vella, S. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/yco.0000000000000806 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“Hwang and colleagues [8] ascertained that loneliness with depressive symptoms is associated with declining cognition, whereas social isolation and loneliness are associated with an increased incidence of dementia.”
BackgroundGryksa, K., & Neumann, I. D. (2021) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105601 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Kadowaki, L., & Wister, A. (2022) · Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement · doi:10.1017/s0714980822000459 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“…upon the strengths and resilience of individuals included: encouraging participation in more outdoor activities (Dahlberg, 2021; Day et al., 2020; Hwang, Rabheru, Peisah, Reichman, & Ikeda, 2020), culturally and religiously grounded interventions (Giwa, Mullings, & Karki, 2020), and creative…”
Roda, E., Ratto, D., Luca, F. D., Desiderio, A., Ramieri, M., Goppa, L., Savino, E., Bottone, M. G., Locatelli, C., & Rossi, P. (2022) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu14061177 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Perez‐Brumer, A., Balasa, R., Doshi, A. S., Brogdon, J. M., Doan, T. A., & Oldenburg, C. E. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph191610264 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Social isolation and health outcomes among older people in China
Zhang, Y., Hu, W. B., & Feng, Z. (2021) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-021-02681-1 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
“Social isolation is one effect of implementing social distancing restrictions to prevent older people from being infected with COVID-19; meanwhile, the costs of social isolation cannot be ignored, as it also increases the incidence of health-related issues [7].”
BackgroundCOVID-19 among LGBTQ+ individuals living with HIV/AIDS: psycho-social challenges and care options
Tomar, A., Spadine, M. N., Graves-Boswell, T., & Wigfall, L. T. (2021) · AIMS Public Health · doi:10.3934/publichealth.2021023 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Post-traumatic Growth and Resilience among American Medical Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Luo, C. Y., Santos-Malave, G., Taku, K., Katz, C. L., & Yanagisawa, R. T. (2022) · Psychiatric Quarterly · doi:10.1007/s11126-022-09981-8 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Perceived Social Support and Sustained Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Hailey, V., Fisher, A., Hamer, M., & Fancourt, D. E. (2022) · International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12529-022-10125-2 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
“Quarantine and social distancing have led to elevated levels of loneliness and social isolation [33].”
BackgroundA narrative review: suicide and suicidal behaviour in older adults
Sadek, J. R., Diaz-Piedra, B., Saleh, L., & MacDonald, L. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1395462 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Veiga‐Seijo, R., Miranda-Duro, M. D. C., & Veiga-Seijo, S. (2021) · Clinical Gerontologist · doi:10.1080/07317115.2021.1937424 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Zhang, Y., Li, Z., Feng, Q., Xu, Y., Yu, R., Chen, J., Gao, Z., Miao, Z., Xu, X., & Yang, Y. M. (2025) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-025-06772-w · Cited by 49 · see citing works
“Specifically, the pandemic has led to increased isolation due to prolonged lockdowns, disrupted education through school closures and the shift to online learning, and heightened uncertainty about the future [13, 14].”
Exploring the determinants and mitigating factors of loneliness among older adults
Smale, B. J. A., Wilson, J., & Akubueze, N. (2022) · Wellbeing Space and Society · doi:10.1016/j.wss.2022.100089 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Impact of COVID-19 on motor vehicle injuries and fatalities in older adults in Ontario, Canada
Rapoport, M. J., Chee, J. N., Aljenabi, N., Byrne, P., Naglie, G., Ilari, F., Elzohairy, Y., Vingilis, E. R., & Mulsant, B. H. (2021) · Accident Analysis & Prevention · doi:10.1016/j.aap.2021.106195 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Mental Health and the City in the Post-COVID-19 Era
Bil, J. S., Buława, B., & Świerzawski, J. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su13147533 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
“The unpleasant experiences of isolation have often turned into traumatic ones related to the state of mental health [13,14].”
BackgroundMäntymäki, M., Islam, A. K. M. N., Turel, O., & Dhir, A. (2022) · Technological Forecasting and Social Change · doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121660 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Neuropsychology of COVID-19: Anticipated cognitive and mental health outcomes.
Bailey, E. K., Steward, K. A., Jantz, A. B. V., Kamper, J. E., Mahoney, E. J., & Duchnick, J. J. (2021) · Neuropsychology · doi:10.1037/neu0000731 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Yap, Y.-Y., Tan, S., Tan, S., & Choon, S.-W. (2022) · Telematics and Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.tele.2022.101842 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Al-Wardat, M. S., Salimei, C., Alrabbaie, H., Etoom, M., Khashroom, M., Clarke, C., Almhdawi, K. A., & Best, T. (2024) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm13061533 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
“Therefore, the social isolation forced by lockdown measures deprived students of vital support networks, aggravating feelings of loneliness and disconnection [53].”
BackgroundA Bibliometric Analysis of Publications on COVID-19 and Older Adults
Soytaş, R. B. (2021) · Annals of Geriatric Medicine and Research · doi:10.4235/agmr.21.0060 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
The future of education utilizing artificial intelligence in Turkey
İçen, M. (2022) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-022-01284-4 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Guo, B., Xi, K., Mao, H., Ren, K., Xiao, H., Hartley, N. D., Zhang, Y., Kang, J., Liu, Y., Xie, Y., et al. (2023) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2023.10.027 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Sangrà, P. S., Mir, S. A., Ribeiro, T. C., Esteban‐Sepúlveda, S., Pagès, E. G., López, B., Moya-Prats, J. L. P., Pintor, L., & Aguiló, J. (2021) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2021.152278 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“In line with what other authors have previously suggested, keeping in touch and living with loved ones can mitigate the adverse impact of the loneliness and social isolation caused by the pandemic [57,58].”
Danvers, A. F., Efinger, L., Mehl, M. R., Helm, P. J., Raison, C. L., Polsinelli, A. J., Moseley, S., & Sbarra, D. A. (2023) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2023.104426 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hwang, T.-J., Rabheru, K., Peisah, C., Reichman, W., & Ikeda, M.
- Affiliations
- National Taiwan University (TW)
- University of Ottawa (CA)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- The University of Osaka (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Hwang, Tzung-Jeng
- Venue
- International Psychogeriatrics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-10
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1217-1220
- ISSN
- 1041-6102 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7306546
- OpenAlex
- W3029529029
- Cited by
- 1,044
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 50 · 2025: 129 · 2024: 170 · 2023: 215 · 2022: 227 · 2021: 220 · 2020: 32
- FWCI
- 69.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Psychogeriatrics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- The Sydney eScholarship Repository (The University of Sydney) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (19K08045)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Social impacts of COVID-19
- Keywords
- loneliness, social isolation, COVID-19 pandemic, older adults
- MeSH terms
- Psychosocial Support Systems, Noncommunicable Diseases, Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adaptation, Psychological, Aged, Aging, Communicable Disease Control, Geriatric Psychiatry, Humans, Loneliness, Mental Health, Pneumonia, Viral, Preventive Health Services, Social Isolation, Social Work, Coronavirus Infections, Needs Assessment, Independent Living, Pandemics
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
