ArticlePloS one2022
Loneliness among people with severe mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a linked UK population cohort study.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of loneliness and social isolation amongst individuals with severe mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Coping, Civilian Transition, and Gambling Harm Severity in UK Armed Forces Veterans.Journal of gambling studies · 2026Article
- The impact of COVID-19 on parents from Black ethnic backgrounds in the UK: what we have learned and why it still matters.BJPsych open · 2025Article
- Association of Game Use With Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Nationwide Korean Study.Psychiatry investigation · 2025Article
- Article
- The cumulative impact of trauma, chronic illness, and COVID-19 stress on mental health in a case-control study of adults with psychotic disorders in Ethiopia.Comprehensive psychiatry · 2024Article
- Preexisting Mental Disorders and Mental Distress During the Pandemic: The Roles of Stress, Risk Perception, and Loneliness.Research square · 2024Article
- COVID-19 vaccination attitudes and acceptance among people with serious mental illness.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Loneliness among UK Veterans: Associations with quality of life, alcohol misuse, and perceptions of partner drinking.Journal of military, veteran and family health · 2023Article
- The Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on the Contribution of Local Green Space and Nature Connection to Mental Health.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Virtual Group-based Walking Intervention for Persons with Schizophrenia: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Mental health and physical activity · 2023Article
- Impact of Covid-19 Restrictions on Individual Placement and Support Service Delivery in Northern Norway.Journal of psychosocial rehabilitation and mental health · 2023Article
- Influences on the physical and mental health of people with serious mental ill-health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2022Article
- Therapeutic Community Gardening as a Green Social Prescription for Mental Ill-Health: Impact, Barriers, and Facilitators from the Perspective of Multiple Stakeholders.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The Impact of Therapeutic Community Gardening on the Wellbeing, Loneliness, and Life Satisfaction of Individuals with Mental Illness.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Predictors of Loneliness among Homeless Individuals in Germany during the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Beware the "loneliness gap"? Examining emerging inequalities and long-term risks of loneliness and isolation emerging from COVID-19.The Australian journal of social issues · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
aim/goal/purposePopulation surveys underrepresent people with severe mental ill health. This paper aims to use multiple regression analyses to explore perceived social support, loneliness and factor associations from self-report survey data collected during the Covid-19 pandemic in a sample of individuals with severe mental ill health. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: We sampled an already existing cohort of people with severe mental ill health. Researchers contacted participants by phone or by post to invite them to take part in a survey about how the pandemic restrictions had impacted health, Covid-19 experiences, perceived social support, employment and loneliness. Loneliness was measured by the three item UCLA loneliness scale.
findingsIn the pandemic sub-cohort, 367 adults with a severe mental ill health diagnosis completed a remote survey. 29-34% of participants reported being lonely. Loneliness was associated with being younger in age (adjusted OR = -.98, p = .02), living alone (adjusted OR = 2.04, p = .01), high levels of social and economic deprivation (adjusted OR = 2.49, p = .04), and lower perceived social support (B = -5.86, p < .001). Living alone was associated with lower perceived social support. Being lonely was associated with a self-reported deterioration in mental health during the pandemic (adjusted OR = 3.46, 95%CI 2.03-5.91). PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Intervention strategies to tackle loneliness in the severe mental ill health population are needed. Further research is needed to follow-up the severe mental ill health population after pandemic restrictions are lifted to understand perceived social support and loneliness trends. ORIGINALITY: Loneliness was a substantial problem for the severe mental ill health population before the Covid-19 pandemic but there is limited evidence to understand perceived social support and loneliness trends during the pandemic.
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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.