| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT Background: Loneliness is a growing public health concern and has been highlighted more during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has warranted strict containment measures limiting the usual social contacts, even with loved ones, increasing widespread concerns for increasing loneliness. Objectives: The objectives of the study are to explore the change in loneliness from before to 8 months into the COVID-19 pandemic in two counties of Norway and the association with sociodemographic sub-groups and self-reported health with the change in loneliness. Methodology: This is a longitudinal study of 10,873 adults older than 18 years living in Agder and Nordland counties with data collected before (September 2019-February 2020) and during (December 2020) the COVID-19 pandemic. Loneliness is measured using a three-item short-version of the UCLA scale which yields a score of 3-15. The score is further operationalized into lonely (≥9) and not lonely (<9). The comparison between groups and the two time points are done in terms of the mean and prevalence of loneliness. Change analysis using multiple regression was done to identify the socio-demographic and health factors associated with the change in loneliness. Result: Mean loneliness increased from 6.12 (S.D.=2.47) before COVID-19 to 6.58 (S.D.=2.61) during COVID-19 (p<0.001). The increase in mean loneliness level was evident across all subgroups by sex, age, marital status, and self-reported health. In terms of prevalence, loneliness increased from 17.5% (95%CI 16.8% - 18.2%) to 22.7% (95%CI 22% - 23.5%). Linear regression analysis shows a stronger increase in loneliness being associated with being women, younger age, single or having poor health status. Conclusion: The degree of loneliness increased during the pandemic in specific subgroups which already had a high degree of loneliness before the pandemic, such as women, younger people, single and people with poor health status. Our findings highlight the importance of continued loneliness surveillance and targeted interventions to curb loneliness in the at-risk groups we have identified both in normal times and during future health crises. | eng |