ArticleJournal of affective disorders2023
The "loneliness epidemic", intersecting risk factors and relations to mental health help-seeking: A population-based study during COVID-19 lockdown in Canada.
Article in Journal of affective disorders, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Machine Learning for the Analysis of Healthy Lifestyle Data: Scoping Review and Guidelines.JMIR human factors · 2026Guideline
- Trial
- Mental health and access to healthcare among racialized and non-racialized migrant sexual and gender minority youth in Canada: findings from a cross-sectional survey conducted during COVID-19.BMC public health · 2026Article
- All the Lonely People: An Integrated Review and Research Agenda on Work and Loneliness.Journal of management · 2026Review
- Longitudinal trajectories of social isolation and loneliness across the lifespan during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Immigrant and Racialized Populations' Cumulative Exposure to Discrimination and Associations with Long-Term Conditions During COVID-19: A Nationwide Large-Scale Study in Canada.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Article
- 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
- Household-income trajectories and mental health inequalities in Germany before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a quasi-experimental panel study.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Improvement in quality of life and loneliness after the community connections program: a community-based pilot intervention in South Australia.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Correlates of Loneliness and Social Isolation Among Korean Adults.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Emerging socioeconomic correlates of loneliness. Evidence from the Barcelona Health Survey 2021.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Article
- Psychological distress, loneliness, and satisfaction with life during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study comparing migrants and non-migrants in Norway.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Synchronous Smiles and Hearts: Dyadic Meditations Enhance Closeness and Prosocial Behavior in Virtual and In-Person Settings.Mindfulness · 2025Article
- "It definitely changed me": Exploring sexual and gender diverse people's experiences with intimate partner violence in Ontario, Canada.Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health · 2024Article
- Delayed Access to Medical Care and Psychological Distress among Chinese Immigrants in Canada during the Pandemic.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Loneliness corresponds with neural representations and language use that deviate from shared cultural perceptions.Communications psychology · 2024Article
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Canadian Adults: to what Extent Might Social Support Subdomains and Negative Social Interactions Predict Psychological Distress?The Psychiatric quarterly · 2023Article
- Risk factors for loneliness: A literature review.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2023Review
- Gender in the disclosure of loneliness on Twitter during COVID-19 lockdowns.Frontiers in digital health · 2023Article
- Community engagement and loneliness in older adults in China: mediation effects of social support in the wake of COVID-19.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
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1 author at 1 institution in 2 countries.
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Abstract
backgroundPandemic-induced social distancing and stay-at-home orders, while successful in decreasing the transmission of COVID-19, could exacerbate loneliness. Few studies have examined how pandemic-related social determinants intersect to shape pandemic loneliness and its relations to mental health care in Canada.
methodsA population-representative sample of 3772 adults from the Canadian Perspective Survey Series (CPSS-6; January 25 to 31, 2021) was analyzed. Gender-specific logistic regression was employed to investigate the association between three-item loneliness scale (UCLA-3) with socio-demographics, job precarity, health behaviours, social isolation indicators, and mental health help-seeking. Classification and Regression Tree (CART) modelling was used to identify intersecting risk factors and the most important predictor of severe loneliness (UCLA-3 score ≥ 7).
resultsThe estimated prevalence of severe loneliness was 34.7 % in Canada, with women significantly higher than men (38.1 % vs 31.3 %, p < 0.001). Pandemic loneliness were more prevalent in female (OR = 1.53, 99 % CI: 1.26-1.85), those who were younger (OR's range 1.42-3.00), women without college degree (OR = 1.44, 99 % CI: 1.01-2.04), those living alone (OR = 1.56, 99 % CI: 1.09-2.23), immigrant men (OR = 1.79, 99 % CI: 1.23-2.60), those with small network (OR's range: 1.73-3.26), those who were absent from work due to COVID-19 related reasons (OR = 2.11, 99 % CI: 1.04-4.28), past-month binge drinkers (OR's range: 1.39-1.70) and cannabis user (OR = 1.47, 99 % CI: 1.12-1.93). The CART algorithm identifies that immigrants who experienced pandemic-triggered job insecurity were the most-at-risk group of severely loneliness. Pandemic loneliness was positively associated with formal help-seeking from mental health professionals (OR = 1.71, 99 % CI: 1.21-2.41), informal help-seeking from social circle (OR = 1.51, 99 % CI: 1.17-1.95), and unmet mental health needs (OR = 1.78, 99 % CI: 1.29-2.49). LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional data prohibits causal inferences.
conclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic converges with loneliness epidemic in Canada. Prevention and intervention programs should target upstream social determinants of mental health, especially the intersection of migration status and COVID-19-related job precarity, to eliminate loneliness during the pandemic.
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