ArticlePsychiatry research2021
The burden of loneliness: Implications of the social determinants of health during COVID-19.
Article in Psychiatry research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 100 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
100 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 201 citations in OpenAlex.
- Social connection interventions and depression in young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Pooled it
- The collateral effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: A gender-specific systematic review of disordered eating behaviour in the general population.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2025Pooled it
- Incorporating Social Determinants of Health in Infectious Disease Models: A Systematic Review of Guidelines.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2024Pooled it
- The impact of the pandemic on psychophysical well-being and quality of learning in the growth of adolescents (aged 11-13): a systematic review of the literature with a PRISMA method.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- The Utility of Meditation and Mindfulness-Based Interventions in the Time of COVID-19: A Theoretical Proposition and Systematic Review of the Relevant Prison, Quarantine and Lockdown Literature.Psychological reports · 2023Pooled it
- The Association of Social Support and Loneliness with Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Application of an egocentric social network approach to examine changes in social connections following treatment for anxiety and depression: A novel measurement tool for clinical trials research?Social science & medicine (1982) · 2024Trial
- Effectiveness of a Video-Based Intervention on Reducing Perceptions of Fear, Loneliness, and Public Stigma Related to COVID-19: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of public health · 2021Trial
- Beyond Isolation: Social Determinants of Mental Health among Single-Person Households in Urban Contexts.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2025Article
- The power of positivity: Exploring affective and social processes of change throughout a positive valence treatment for anxiety or depression.Journal of mood and anxiety disorders · 2025Article
- A scoping review of intersectional health research related to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America: key findings.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Time and Frequency of Social Media Use and Loneliness Among U.S. Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Anticipation and Motivation as Predictors of Leisure and Social Enjoyment and Engagement in Young People With Depression Symptoms: Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.JMIR mental health · 2025Article
- Determinants of depressive symptoms in multinational middle-aged and older adults.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Tuberculosis and Impact of COVID-19 on Spread of Epidemics in Kazakhstan.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Short, Animated Storytelling Video to Reduce Addiction Stigma in 13,500 Participants Across Multiple Countries Through an Online Approach: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Emerging socioeconomic correlates of loneliness. Evidence from the Barcelona Health Survey 2021.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Article
- Differential Effects of Pandemic-Related Stressors on Mental Health by Age and Sex.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Third-party evaluators perceive AI as more compassionate than expert humans.Communications psychology · 2025Article
- Personal, community, and societal factors associated with mukbang viewing among adolescents: findings from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey.Epidemiology and health · 2025Article
40 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study sought to examine if mental health issues, namely depression and anxiety symptoms, and loneliness were experienced differently according to various demographic groups during the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., a societal stressor). An online survey, comprising demographic questions and questionnaires on depression, anxiety and loneliness symptoms, was distributed in Canada during the height of social distancing restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents (N=661) from lower income households experienced greater anxiety, depression and loneliness. Specifically, loneliness was greater in those with an annual income <$50,000/yr versus higher income brackets. Younger females (18-29yr) displayed greater anxiety, depressive symptoms and loneliness than their male counterparts; this difference did not exist among the other age groups (30-64yr, >65yr). Moreover, loneliness scores increased with increasing depression and anxiety symptom severity category. The relationship between loneliness and depression symptoms was moderated by gender, such that females experienced higher depressive symptoms when encountering greater loneliness. These data identify younger females, individuals with lower income, and those living alone as experiencing greater loneliness and mental health challenges during the height of the pandemic in Canada. We highlight the strong relationship between loneliness, depression and anxiety, and emphasize increased vulnerability among certain cohorts.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.