Loneliness in older Chinese adults amid the COVID ‐19 pandemic: Prevalence and associated factors

This study aimed to examine the prevalence of loneliness and identify its associated factors among older Chinese adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, 1268 older Chinese adults (aged 50+ years) were recruited through snowball sampling. The Chinese version of the validated six-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale was used to assess participants' recent feelings of loneliness, and a cut-off score of two or more was used to indicate the presence of loneliness.ResultsLoneliness was experienced by 37.9% of the participants in recent days. Factors significantly associated with loneliness included male sex (vs. female, OR: 1.62,p <  .001), an education level of middle school and below (vs. college and above, OR: 1.50,p = .007), residing in the COVID-19 epicenter (vs. other provinces, OR: 1.48,p = .004), concern about contracting COVID-19 (OR: 1.68,p = .001), poor knowledge of COVID-19 (OR: 2.39,p = .012), and physical health problems (OR: 1.65,p <  .001).DiscussionLoneliness is common among older Chinese adults amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Targeted intervention programs may be more effective in reducing loneliness among older adults who are worried about contracting COVID-19, have poor COVID-19 knowledge, and experience physical health problems.
Source: Asia-Pacific Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research