ArticleThe journal of nutrition, health & aging2023
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Older People's Loneliness: Findings from a Longitudinal Study between 2019 and 2021 among Older Home-Dwellers in Finland.
Article in The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Experiences of loneliness among older deaf adults who use sign language.Journal of deaf studies and deaf education · 2026Article
- The perception of Covid-19 amongst vulnerable subgroups of the general population in Italy: insights from the qualitative study of the MOST project.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Psycho-social and health predictors of loneliness in older primary care patients and mediating mechanisms linking comorbidities and loneliness.BMC geriatrics · 2023Article
- Association of COVID-19 Infection with Sociodemographic, Anthropometric and Lifestyle Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study in an Older Adults' Population Aged over 65 Years Old.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Editorial: Loneliness among Older People Exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo investigate the change in feelings of loneliness among Finnish community-dwelling older people from before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 to during the pandemic in 2021. Moreover, we explore the changes in other dimensions of psychological well-being (PWB) during the study period.
designQuestionnaires were mailed in the 2019 Helsinki Aging Study, a repeated cohort study. A follow-up interview was carried on over the telephone during the year 2021. SETTING AND
participantsA random sample of 2,917 home-dwelling older people aged 75-104 years residing in Helsinki, Finland were mailed the questionnaire. Altogether 898 participated in the follow-up. MEASUREMENTS: Loneliness was measured using a single item question "Do you suffer from loneliness?". Other items of psychological well-being were measured: "Are you satisfied with your life?" (yes/no), "Do you feel useful?" (yes/no), "Do you have a zest for life?" (yes/no),"Do you have plans for the future?" (yes/no), and "Do you feel depressed?"("rarely or never"/ "sometimes"/ "often or always").
resultsAltogether 898 people participated both in 2019 and 2021. The subjects' mean age was 83 years and 66% were women. Between 2019 and 2021, the prevalence of experienced loneliness increased among older home-dwellers from 26% to 30%. During two years of the pandemic feelings of loneliness (RR 1.79, 95% CI: 1.30 to 2.46) and depression (RR 1.37, 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.67) increased even adjusted with various confounders.
conclusionConsidering the impact loneliness has on health and well-being, the finding of increased feelings of loneliness among older people is alarming. Actions to combat loneliness need to be taken.
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