Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Psychiatry Res. 2022 Apr;310:114446. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114446. Epub 2022 Feb 13.
Loneliness and associated mental health problems are of particular concern during the COVID-19 pandemic due to physical distancing and lockdown restrictions. Loneliness is most common among young adults and women during the pandemic, but it is unclear if the association between loneliness and mental health problems, notably anxiety, is strongest in these groups. The objective of this study was to examine whether the association between loneliness and anxiety differed by age and/or gender during the pandemic. We analyzed data from a multi-wave national online survey of Canadians aged 18+ years from May 2020 to March 2021 (n = 7,021). Multivariable modified least-squares regression was used to examine whether the association between loneliness and moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (GAD-7 10+) differed by age and/or gender on the additive scale, controlling for socio-demographic factors, depression, hopefulness, and survey wave. Age significantly moderated the association between loneliness and anxiety symptoms while gender did not. Loneliness was associated with anxiety symptoms for all age groups, but the association was not as strong among those aged 70+ years compared to other age groups. Evidence-based loneliness interventions that target younger adults are needed to mitigate the mental health effects of infectious disease events such as COVID-19.
孤独感及相关心理健康问题在 COVID-19 大流行期间尤为令人关注，这是由于保持身体距离和封锁限制所致。在大流行期间，孤独感在年轻人和女性中最为常见，但尚不清楚孤独感与心理健康问题（尤其是焦虑症）之间的关联在这些群体中是否最强。本研究的目的是检验在大流行期间，孤独感与焦虑症之间的关联是否因年龄和/或性别而异。我们分析了 2020 年 5 月至 2021 年 3 月期间来自加拿大 18 岁以上人群的多波全国在线调查的数据（n=7021）。采用多变量修正最小二乘法回归，检验在加性尺度上，孤独感与中度至重度焦虑症状（GAD-7 10+）之间的关联是否因年龄和/或性别而异，同时控制了社会人口统计学因素、抑郁、希望感和调查波次。年龄显著调节了孤独感与焦虑症状之间的关联，而性别则没有。孤独感与所有年龄组的焦虑症状相关，但与 70 岁以上年龄组相比，与其他年龄组的关联不那么强烈。需要针对年轻人的循证孤独感干预措施，以减轻 COVID-19 等传染病事件对心理健康的影响。
