ArticleBMC public health2021
Loneliness and mental health among the elderly in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 79 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mental Health Consequences of COVID-19 Pandemic Period in the European Population: An Institutional Challenge.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- The Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychogeriatrics : the official journal of the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society · 2022Pooled it
- Sociodemographic, lifestyle, work- and health-related correlates of mental health outcomes: a large-scale cross-sectional web-based study of 1.19 million adult internet users in Poland (2020-2024).BMC public health · 2026Article
- Older People's Perception of the Infodemic during the COVID-19 Pandemic in São Paulo, Brazil.Journal of caring sciences · 2026Article
- Perceptions of Death and Religiosity Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil: A Qualitative Study.Cureus · 2026Article
- An integrative review of loneliness and quality of life in older adults who lived alone during COVID-19: considerations for supporting reconnection.BMC geriatrics · 2025Review
- Changes in prehospital emergency medical services dispatch mission patterns and their public health implications during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China.International journal of emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Severity of erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation positively correlate with aggression levels in men: insights from a large population-representative study.International journal of impotence research · 2025Article
- Promoting resilience and mental well-being among immigrants in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Patterns of Healthcare Use and Disease Burden Among Older Adults in Poland: A Large-Scale Retrospective Study of Primary Care Utilization.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Psychological Distress in Older Adults Living in Puerto Rico during COVID-19.Journal of cross-cultural gerontology · 2025Article
- Uncovering the impact of loneliness in ageing populations: a comprehensive scoping review.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Nurses' perspectives on clinical competence to identify loneliness and depression in older people in home care: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Understanding Loneliness in Older Adults During the Pandemic: Predictors and Questionnaire Validation.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Hospital Visitation Bans in the COVID-19 Era.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Comparison of psychological distress, loneliness, and social network structure between Ukrainian war refugees and Polish citizens: a cross-sectional study in Wroclaw.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Association of Aggression with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Overactive Bladder in Men: Observations from a Large Population-representative Study.European urology open science · 2024Article
- The long COVID and its mental health manifestations - the review of literature.International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health · 2024Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe unexpected changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic related to the fear of developing the disease, and the need for social distancing and isolation have had an effect on people's mental health. These drastic changes can result in the development of anxiety, depressive symptoms and sense of loneliness. Elderly and chronically ill individuals are at a particularly high risk of developing COVID-19, suffering severe illness and dying as a result of it. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of anxiety, depressive symptoms, irritability and loneliness in the elderly aged 60 years and older as a group exposed to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to analyze the relationships between loneliness and mental health of the respondents and sociodemographic variables and chronic diseases. MATERIALS AND
methodsThe study was conducted in Poland among 221 individuals aged 60+. The study material was collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-M) and a revised University of California Los Angeles loneliness scale (R-UCLA). Women accounted for 47.51% and men for 52.49% of study participants; the mean age was 65.18 (SD = 4.06).
resultsIn total, according to HADS-M, depressive symptoms were present in 19.15% of the participants and borderline states in 14.18% of them. Based on R-UCLA, moderate and moderately high sense of loneliness was present in 58.83% of the participants. Sense of loneliness was significantly correlated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms (p < 0.001).
conclusionsIn this study, one in five participants experienced anxiety and depressive symptoms. Two out of three participants experienced a moderate sense of loneliness. Individuals who displayed a higher level of loneliness also had a higher severity of anxiety level depressive symptoms and irritability. Elderly individuals should be under special care due to their high risk of experiencing physical and mental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.