ArticlePloS one2022
Effects of social isolation on quality of life in elderly adults.
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 26 papers.
What it found
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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
26 citing papers in PubMed, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- Decision regret in patients with rectal cancer undergoing multimodal therapy.Clinical and translational radiation oncology · 2026Article
- Time-restricted feeding rescues sociability deficits and reduces neuroinflammation in aged mice.Neurobiology of aging · 2026Article
- Community as Medicine: A Qualitative Study of How Group Health Coaching and Social Connection Improve Mental Well-Being in Older Adults.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The impact of social isolation on physical and mental health among empty-nest older adults: an integrative review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Impact of biopsychosocial frailty trends on survival and quality of life of older adults: a secondary analysis of data from a community-based active monitoring program.Frontiers in aging · 2026Article
- From Passive to Active-Improving the Healthy Self-Help Behavior of Older Adults Through Community Health Association: Mixed Methods Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Potential profiling of social alienation in elderly stroke patients and study of influencing factors.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Depression in older adults with epilepsy: Pathophysiology and management considerations.Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · 2025Review
- Association between chronic gastrointestinal diseases and frailty: unveiling the mediating effect of loneliness.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs in the Association Between Exercise Goal Content and Subjective Well-Being in Portuguese Older Adults.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The relationship between hearing loss and cognitive function in the elderly: the mediating effect of social isolation.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- A Bayesian Structural Equation Model to Predict Quality of Life in European Older Adults.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025Article
- Theory of Mind Mediates the Association Between Autistic Traits and Social Isolation in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025Article
- IBD Is Like a Tree: Reflections From Older Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease.Inflammatory bowel diseases · 2025Article
- Heat exposure and self-rated health in older Chinese adults: the mediating roles of chronic disease and intergenerational support, 2008-2018 CLHLS.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Virtual avatar communication task eliciting pseudo-social isolation and detecting social isolation using non-verbal signal monitoring in older adults.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Factors negatively affecting quality of life in geriatric patients: review.GMS hygiene and infection control · 2025Review
- Experiences, perceptions and utilization of CareLine: an evaluation study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Depression, Loneliness and Quality of Life in Institutionalised and Non-Institutionalised Older Adults in Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Prolonged periods of social isolation are known to have significant negative health consequences and reduce quality of life, an effect that is particularly pronounced in older populations. Despite the known deleterious effects of social isolation, a key component of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been the issuance of stay at home and/or shelter in place orders. Relatively little is known about the potential effects these periods of social isolation could have on older adults, and less still is known about potential risk factors or protective factors that modulate these effects. Here, we describe results from a longitudinal study in which we measured quality of life both prior to and immediately following a one-month period of social isolation associated with the issuance and revocation of a shelter in place order (April 6, 2020 through May 4, 2020) in the state of South Carolina. Healthy adult participants (N = 62) between the ages of 60 and 80 who had already completed quality of life questionnaires prior to isolation again completed the questionnaires following a one-month order to shelter in place. Quality of life significantly decreased during the social isolation period, with older participants showing the greatest declines. Participants with higher levels of physical activity and better physical/mental health going into the isolation period tended to show greater decreases in quality of life over time. These results highlight the negative consequences of even short bouts of social isolation for the elderly and suggest that reductions in social contact related to COVID-19 may have significant effects on mental health and emotional well-being, at least among older individuals.
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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.