Loneliness among older adults in the community during COVID-19

Objective

Physical distancing and stay-at-home measures implemented to slow transmission of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) may intensify feelings of loneliness in older adults, especially those living alone. Our aim was to characterize the extent of loneliness in a sample of older adults living in the community and assess characteristics associated with loneliness.

Design

Online cross-sectional survey between May 6 and May 19, 2020

Setting

Ontario, Canada

Participants

Convenience sample of the members of a national retired educators’ organization.

Primary outcome measures

Self-reported loneliness, including differences between women and men.

Results

4879 respondents (71.0% women; 67.4% 65-79 years) reported that in the preceding week, 43.1% felt lonely at least some of the time, including 8.3% that felt lonely always or often. Women had increased odds of loneliness compared to men, whether living alone (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) 1.52 [95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.13-2.04]) or with others (2.44 [95% CI 2.04-2.92]). Increasing age group decreased the odds of loneliness (aOR 0.69 [95% CI 0.59-0.81] 65-79 years and 0.50 [95% CI 0.39-0.65] 80+ years compared to <65 years). Living alone was associated with loneliness, with a greater association in men (aOR 4.26 [95% CI 3.15-5.76]) than women (aOR 2.65 [95% CI 2.26-3.11]). Other factors associated with loneliness included: fair or poor health (aOR 1.93 [95% CI 1.54-2.41]), being a caregiver (aOR 1.18 [95% CI 1.02-1.37]), receiving care (aOR 1.47 [95% CI 1.19-1.81]), high concern for the pandemic (aOR 1.55 [95% CI 1.31-1.84]), not experiencing positive effects of pandemic distancing measures (aOR 1.94 [95% CI 1.62-2.32]), and changes to daily routine (aOR 2.81 [95% CI 1.96-4.03]).

Conclusions

While many older adults reported feeling lonely during COVID-19, several characteristics – such as being female and living alone – increased the odds of loneliness. These characteristics may help identify priorities for targeting interventions to reduce loneliness.

Strengths and limitations of this study

• This survey study leveraged a strong community-based partnership to obtain timely data from a large sample of older Canadians on the impacts of COVID-19.

• This study identified several characteristics that increased the odds of loneliness, which may help to identify priorities for targeted interventions to reduce loneliness.

• The data were based on a convenience sample of retired, educational staff, who are not fully representative of the Canadian population. The perspectives of vulnerable groups who may be at greater risk for loneliness (e.g. those with severe mental health illness, low income, no home internet access, etc.) are likely underrepresented in this sample.