Association between loneliness and depression, anxiety and anger during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide population-based survey
Objectives This study aims to determine the association between loneliness and depression, anxiety and anger with a representative sample of the general population in Korea, which are the most prevalent mental health problems during the pandemic.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting National survey a...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-07-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/7/e088590.full |
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| author | Juhee Cho Jin Lee Danbee Kang Hyeonjin Cho Jihye Heo |
| author_facet | Juhee Cho Jin Lee Danbee Kang Hyeonjin Cho Jihye Heo |
| author_sort | Juhee Cho |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives This study aims to determine the association between loneliness and depression, anxiety and anger with a representative sample of the general population in Korea, which are the most prevalent mental health problems during the pandemic.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting National survey across all 17 provinces in South Korea between December 2021 and January 2022.Participants We conducted a national survey on 2699 participants aged 19–84 years using proportional stratified sampling. Using the UCLA Loneliness Scale and standardised questionnaires for depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7) and anger (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Anger), we explored the prevalence and association of loneliness with these mental health outcomes.Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcomes included the prevalence and co-occurrence of depression, anxiety and anger across different levels of loneliness.Results Of total, 20.7% and 2.1% experienced moderately high and high levels of loneliness, respectively. Among participants with high levels of loneliness, 11.8%, 5.9% and 11.8% had depression, anxiety and anger, respectively, and 28.7% of them had depression, anxiety and anger together. The adjusted prevalence of depression was 0.2 (95% CI 0.0 to 0.5), 8.2 (95% CI 6.7 to 9.7), 31.3 (95% CI 27.4 to 35.3) and 63.5 (95% CI 50.1 to 76.8) for low, moderate, moderately high and high levels of loneliness, respectively. Similarly, increased adjusted prevalence of anxiety and anger was observed ㅈwith higher levels of loneliness.Conclusions Lonely people have a higher risk of depression, anxiety and anger. Identifying individuals who may be vulnerable to loneliness is important for early intervention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a34271c56bdf4a48ac5eb5a5f708bca6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-a34271c56bdf4a48ac5eb5a5f708bca62025-08-20T03:50:06ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552025-07-0115710.1136/bmjopen-2024-088590Association between loneliness and depression, anxiety and anger during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide population-based surveyJuhee Cho0Jin Lee1Danbee Kang2Hyeonjin Cho3Jihye Heo4Department of Digital Health, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South KoreaCenter for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South KoreaCenter for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Digital Health, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South KoreaCenter for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South KoreaObjectives This study aims to determine the association between loneliness and depression, anxiety and anger with a representative sample of the general population in Korea, which are the most prevalent mental health problems during the pandemic.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting National survey across all 17 provinces in South Korea between December 2021 and January 2022.Participants We conducted a national survey on 2699 participants aged 19–84 years using proportional stratified sampling. Using the UCLA Loneliness Scale and standardised questionnaires for depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7) and anger (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Anger), we explored the prevalence and association of loneliness with these mental health outcomes.Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcomes included the prevalence and co-occurrence of depression, anxiety and anger across different levels of loneliness.Results Of total, 20.7% and 2.1% experienced moderately high and high levels of loneliness, respectively. Among participants with high levels of loneliness, 11.8%, 5.9% and 11.8% had depression, anxiety and anger, respectively, and 28.7% of them had depression, anxiety and anger together. The adjusted prevalence of depression was 0.2 (95% CI 0.0 to 0.5), 8.2 (95% CI 6.7 to 9.7), 31.3 (95% CI 27.4 to 35.3) and 63.5 (95% CI 50.1 to 76.8) for low, moderate, moderately high and high levels of loneliness, respectively. Similarly, increased adjusted prevalence of anxiety and anger was observed ㅈwith higher levels of loneliness.Conclusions Lonely people have a higher risk of depression, anxiety and anger. Identifying individuals who may be vulnerable to loneliness is important for early intervention.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/7/e088590.full |
| spellingShingle | Juhee Cho Jin Lee Danbee Kang Hyeonjin Cho Jihye Heo Association between loneliness and depression, anxiety and anger during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide population-based survey BMJ Open |
| title | Association between loneliness and depression, anxiety and anger during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide population-based survey |
| title_full | Association between loneliness and depression, anxiety and anger during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide population-based survey |
| title_fullStr | Association between loneliness and depression, anxiety and anger during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide population-based survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association between loneliness and depression, anxiety and anger during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide population-based survey |
| title_short | Association between loneliness and depression, anxiety and anger during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide population-based survey |
| title_sort | association between loneliness and depression anxiety and anger during the covid 19 pandemic a nationwide population based survey |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/7/e088590.full |
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