Loneliness Doubled Among Older Adults in First Months of COVID-19, Poll Shows

The National Poll on Healthy Aging indicates that loneliness among older adults doubled in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, reports EurekAlert . In June 2020, 56 percent of people older than 50 said they sometimes or often felt isolated from others, versus 27 percent who felt that way in a 2018 survey. Nearly half of those polled in June also felt more isolated than they had just before the pandemic's U.S. arrival, while a third said they felt they had less companionship than before. Moreover, 46 percent of older adults said in June that they infrequently engaged with friends, neighbors, or family outside their household compared with 28 percent who reported this in 2018. Still, those respondents who said they interacted with people in their neighborhood at least once a week were less likely to say they had suffered forms of loneliness. Technology also helped many reach out to others, including the 59 percent who reported using social media at least once weekly, and the 31 percent who used video chat at least once weekly. In addition, many older adults said they engaged in healthy behaviors despite the pandemic, including 75 percent who went outdoors or interacted with nature, and 62 percent who exercised several times a week. "The intersection of loneliness and health still needs much study, but even as we gather new evidence, all of us can take time to reach out to older neighbors, friends, and relatives in safe ways as they try to avoid the coronavirus," explained University of Michigan School of Public Health Professor John Piette.