Social Isolation, Loneliness and Generalized Anxiety: Implications and Associations during the COVID-19 Quarantine

Wilkialis, Linas; Rodrigues, Nelson B.; Danielle, S.; Siegel, Ashley; Majeed, Amna; Lui, Leanna M.W.; Tamura, Jocelyn K.; Gill, Barjot; Teopiz, Kayla M.; McIntyre, Roger S.

doi:10.3390/brainsci11121620

Cited by 38 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…Similarly, for future anxiety, with massive changes in social structures, ranging from job status to caregiving aspects due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people who are more anxious about their future tend to develop social anxiety, which is a perceived threat to interpersonal relations and highly associated with loneliness [ 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ]. Regarding subjective health status, our results showed that people with poorer health conditions tended to suffer from loneliness, which aligns with findings from previous studies [ 29 , 56 ]. Finally, a myopic view of the future was another strong predictor of loneliness, especially among younger males.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Has Smartphone Use Influenced Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan?

Nguyen

Lal

Sulemana

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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The influence of smartphone use on increased risk of feeling lonely has been recognized as a global public health concern. However, it is unclear whether this influence has changed during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, during which smartphones have become a particularly important means of communication due to health safety measures restricting personal interactions. We used Hiroshima University’s online survey data collected from 18–28 February 2022, to assess the impact of smartphone use on loneliness in Japan. The final sample included 2630 participants aged over 20 years, with loneliness measured using the UCLA scale and smartphone use calculated as the duration of usage in minutes/day. Weighted logit regression analysis was used to examine the association between smartphone use and loneliness, with other demographic, socioeconomic, and psychological characteristics as explanatory variables. Contrary to conventional evidence, our findings show that smartphone use mitigated the risk of loneliness during the pandemic. This was especially true among females under 65 years old. We found that age, subjective health status, future anxiety, and depression impacted this relationship. The findings of this study can help guide policymaking by showing the importance of providing adequate digital platforms to manage loneliness and mental health during times of isolation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Has Smartphone Use Influenced Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan?

Nguyen

Lal

Sulemana

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Sex and self-reported disposable income were covariates in the model. also showed that loneliness was positively associated with anxiety and depression with significant path coefficients, adding to the ever growing literature that loneliness plays an important role in mental health conditions (Erzen and Çikrikci, 2018;Wilkialis et al, 2021). In addition, higher subjective social status also had a direct protective effect against anxiety and depression.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

A man-made divide: Investigating the effect of urban–rural household registration and subjective social status on mental health mediated by loneliness among a large sample of university students in China

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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IntroductionThe urban–rural household registration system in China has been documented with profound social consequences in almost all areas of people’s life. This study aims to investigate the underlying mechanism of the rural and urban discrepancies on mental health conditions among a large sample of college students in China.MethodsA survey was distributed among college students in China. A total of 96,218 college students from 63 colleges completed the survey, answering questions on their urban–rural household registration, disposable household income, subjective social status, feelings of loneliness, and anxiety and depression symptoms. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analyses were conducted, testing the effect of urban–rural registration on one’s mental health, mediated by subjective social status, and loneliness.ResultsStructural Equation Modelling (SEM) results revealed that the urban–rural household registration showed a direct effect on anxiety (B = −0.03, 95% CI [−0.038, −0.022], β = −0.03, p < 0.001) and depression (B = −0.03, 95% CI [−0.035, −0.023], β = −0.03, p < 0.001), indicating that rural household registration had a negative association with anxiety and depression symptoms, albeit the standardised estimate being very small. The indirect path from the urban–rural registration mediated through subjective social status and loneliness to anxiety and depression was both significant, with B = 0.01, 95% CI [0.010, 0.010], β = 0.01, p < 0.001, and B = 0.01, 95% CI [0.0090, 0.0090], β = 0.01, p < 0.001, respectively. The results of the indirect paths demonstrated that students of the rural household registration reported higher anxiety and depression symptoms through a lower subjective social status and higher level of loneliness.ConclusionThis study indicated that decreasing the disparity of social status and tackling loneliness is the key to improve the overall mental health of college students. The urban–rural household registration system may have a very small direct effect on the college students’ mental health; but students of urban registration enjoyed higher subjective social status, which had a clear protective effect against anxiety and depression symptoms.

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“…Common strategies to combat viral infections include quarantine and social isolation, which can cause mental and psychological disorders including acute and chronic stress, anxiety and depression ( Garcovich et al, 2020 ; Hwang et al, 2020 ; Pan et al, 2020 ; Wilkialis et al, 2021 ). These countermeasures are associated with sedentary behaviors that decrease physical exercise ( Booth et al, 2000 ; Lightfoot, 2011 ; Gasmi et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: The Concurrent Effects Of Covid-19 and Ms On Mental And Psyc...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multimodal Benefits of Exercise in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis and COVID-19

et al. 2022

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease characterized by plaque formation and neuroinflammation. The plaques can present in various locations, causing a variety of clinical symptoms in patients with MS. Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is also associated with systemic inflammation and a cytokine storm which can cause plaque formation in several areas of the brain. These concurring events could exacerbate the disease burden of MS. We review the neuro-invasive properties of SARS-CoV-2 and the possible pathways for the entry of the virus into the central nervous system (CNS). Complications due to this viral infection are similar to those occurring in patients with MS. Conditions related to MS which make patients more susceptible to viral infection include inflammatory status, blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, function of CNS cells, and plaque formation. There are also psychoneurological and mood disorders associated with both MS and COVID-19 infections. Finally, we discuss the effects of exercise on peripheral and central inflammation, BBB integrity, glia and neural cells, and remyelination. We conclude that moderate exercise training prior or after infection with SARS-CoV-2 can produce health benefits in patients with MS patients, including reduced mortality and improved physical and mental health of patients with MS.

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Social Isolation, Loneliness and Generalized Anxiety: Implications and Associations during the COVID-19 Quarantine

Cited by 38 publications

References 90 publications

Has Smartphone Use Influenced Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan?

Has Smartphone Use Influenced Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan?

A man-made divide: Investigating the effect of urban–rural household registration and subjective social status on mental health mediated by loneliness among a large sample of university students in China

Multimodal Benefits of Exercise in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis and COVID-19

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