Table 3.
Predictors of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, adjusted for loneliness and participant characteristics in the pre-pandemic period
| Variablesa | Model 1 (n = 23,544) OR (95% CI) | Model 2 (n = 22,058) OR (95% CI) | Model 3 (n = 22,018) OR (95% CI) | Model 4 (n = 21,176) OR (95% CI) | Model 5 (n = 20,975) OR (95% CI) | Model 6 (n = 20,033) OR (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loneliness at FUP1 (ref = "not lonely") | ||||||
| Lonely | 5.93 (5.54,6.35) | 5.83 (5.42,6.28) | 5.59 (5.19,6.03) | 4.79 (4.43,5.18) | 4.8 (4.44,5.2) | 4.87 (4.49,5.28) |
| Age (ref = "75 + ") | ||||||
| < 55 | - | 1.08 (0.97,1.21) | 1.19 (1.06,1.34) | 1.33 (1.17,1.51) | 1.35 (1.19,1.53) | 1.41 (1.23,1.63) |
| 55–64 | - | 1.09 (1,1.19) | 1.18 (1.08,1.29) | 1.29 (1.17,1.42) | 1.3 (1.18,1.44) | 1.35 (1.21,1.49) |
| 65–74 | - | 0.99 (0.91,1.09) | 1.06 (0.97,1.16) | 1.12 (1.03,1.23) | 1.14 (1.03,1.25) | 1.16 (1.05,1.27) |
| Sex (ref = "Male") | ||||||
| Female | - | 1.52 (1.43,1.62) | 1.46 (1.37,1.55) | 1.37 (1.29,1.46) | 1.39 (1.3,1.48) | 1.34 (1.25,1.43) |
| Ethnicity (ref = "European") | ||||||
| Non-European | - | 0.97 (0.85,1.09) | 0.97 (0.86,1.1) | 0.94 (0.83,1.07) | 0.97 (0.85,1.1) | 0.94 (0.83,1.08) |
| Education (ref = "Post-secondary education/degree/diploma") | ||||||
| Secondary school graduation, no post-secondary education | - | 0.69 (0.59,0.81) | 0.73 (0.62,0.85) | 0.7 (0.6,0.83) | 0.72 (0.61,0.85) | 0.73 (0.61,0.86) |
| Less than secondary school graduation | - | 0.88 (0.79,0.97) | 0.9 (0.81,1) | 0.89 (0.8,0.99) | 0.89 (0.8,0.99) | 0.9 (0.81,1.01) |
| HH Income (ref = " ≥ $150,000") | ||||||
| < $20,000 | - | 1.36 (1.14,1.62) | 1.09 (0.9,1.31) | 0.93 (0.76,1.13) | 0.94 (0.77,1.15) | 0.98 (0.8,1.2) |
| $20,000-$49,999 | - | 1.29 (1.16,1.43) | 1.17 (1.04,1.31) | 1.06 (0.95,1.19) | 1.08 (0.96,1.21) | 1.06 (0.94,1.2) |
| $50,000-$99,999 | - | 1.16 (1.06,1.28) | 1.14 (1.04,1.25) | 1.08 (0.98,1.19) | 1.08 (0.98,1.19) | 1.07 (0.97,1.19) |
| $100,000-$149,999 | - | 1.1 (0.99,1.21) | 1.09 (0.99,1.21) | 1.07 (0.96,1.18) | 1.07 (0.96,1.18) | 1.08 (0.97,1.2) |
| ≥ $150,000 | ||||||
| Number of people living in the same HH (ref = "Not living alone”) | ||||||
| Living alone | - | - | 1.5 (1.38,1.62) | 1.52 (1.4,1.65) | 1.51 (1.39,1.65) | 1.39 (1.27,1.52) |
| Dwelling Type (ref = "House (single detached, semi-detached, duplex or townhouse)") | ||||||
| Apartment or condominium | - | - | 1.04 (0.96,1.14) | 1.02 (0.93,1.11) | 1.03 (0.94,1.12) | 1.01 (0.92,1.11) |
| Other | - | - | 1.02 (0.82,1.27) | 0.97 (0.78,1.22) | 0.97 (0.78,1.22) | 0.98 (0.77,1.24) |
| Living Area (ref = "Rural") | ||||||
| Urban | - | - | 1.21 (1.1,1.32) | 1.2 (1.09,1.32) | 1.2 (1.09,1.32) | 1.18 (1.07,1.3) |
| Provinceb (ref = "NS") | ||||||
| Alberta | - | - | 1.46 (1.27,1.68) | 1.49 (1.28,1.73) | 1.5 (1.29,1.75) | 1.55 (1.32,1.81) |
| British Columbia | - | - | 1.33 (1.18,1.51) | 1.39 (1.21,1.59) | 1.41 (1.23,1.62) | 1.43 (1.24,1.64) |
| Manitoba | - | - | 1.62 (1.41,1.88) | 1.72 (1.48,2.01) | 1.75 (1.49,2.04) | 1.72 (1.46,2.02) |
| New Brunswick | - | - | 0.96 (0.75,1.24) | 1 (0.77,1.31) | 1.03 (0.79,1.34) | 1.02 (0.77,1.33) |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | - | - | 0.9 (0.76,1.07) | 0.93 (0.78,1.11) | 0.95 (0.79,1.13) | 0.94 (0.78,1.13) |
| Ontario | - | - | 1.48 (1.31,1.67) | 1.51 (1.33,1.73) | 1.54 (1.35,1.76) | 1.54 (1.34,1.76) |
| Prince Edward Island | - | - | 1.16 (0.89,1.51) | 1.2 (0.91,1.58) | 1.26 (0.95,1.66) | 1.3 (0.97,1.73) |
| Québec | - | - | 1.22 (1.08,1.39) | 1.29 (1.12,1.47) | 1.29 (1.12,1.48) | 1.3 (1.13,1.5) |
| Saskatchewan | - | - | 1.52 (1.22,1.9) | 1.62 (1.29,2.04) | 1.67 (1.33,2.1) | 1.76 (1.39,2.23) |
| Depression (ref = "Negative screen for depression") | ||||||
| Positive screen for depression | - | - | - | 2.11 (1.91,2.31) | 2.12 (1.92,2.33) | 2.08 (1.88,2.3) |
| Number of CCs (ref = "0") | ||||||
| 1 | - | - | - | 1.06 (0.95,1.19) | 1.06 (0.94,1.19) | 1.06 (0.94,1.19) |
| 2 | - | - | - | 1.16 (1.04,1.3) | 1.16 (1.04,1.3) | 1.16 (1.03,1.31) |
| 3 + | - | - | - | 1.35 (1.21,1.51) | 1.35 (1.21,1.51) | 1.34 (1.2,1.5) |
| Type of Alcohol Drinker (ref = "Did not drink in the last 12 months") | ||||||
| Binge drinker | - | - | - | - | 1.06 (0.88,1.27) | 0.99 (0.82,1.2) |
| Regular drinker | - | - | - | - | 1.18 (1.06,1.31) | 1.15 (1.04,1.28) |
| Occasional drinker | - | - | - | - | 1.11 (0.98,1.26) | 1.11 (0.97,1.27) |
| Type of Smoker (ref = "Never smoked") | ||||||
| Current smoker | - | - | - | - | 1.1 (0.95,1.27) | 1.13 (0.98,1.31) |
| Former smoker | - | - | - | - | 1.07 (1,1.14) | 1.06 (0.99,1.14) |
| Physical Activityc (ref = "Low risk") | ||||||
| At risk | - | - | - | - | 1.03 (0.96,1.1) | 1.03 (0.96,1.11) |
| Social Participationd (ref = "High social participation") | ||||||
| Low social participation | - | - | - | - | 0.97 (0.9,1.06) | 0.99 (0.91,1.08) |
| CHANGE in average weekday alone time during the day (ref = "Same") | ||||||
| Less than usual | - | - | - | - | - | 1.32 (1.19,1.46) |
| More than usual | - | - | - | - | - | 1.1 (0.99,1.22) |
| CHANGE in average weekend alone time during the day (ref = "Same") | ||||||
| Less than usual | - | - | - | - | - | 1.27 (1.14,1.41) |
| More than usual | - | - | - | - | - | 0.97 (0.87,1.08) |
| Essential Worker (ref = "Not works outside of residence") | ||||||
| Yes | - | - | - | - | - | 0.77 (0.69,0.87) |
| No | - | - | - | - | - | 0.99 (0.9,1.1) |
aSex, ethnicity and education come from CLSA baseline; all other variables come from FUP1 sample except for change in average weekday alone time during the day, change in average weekend alone time during the day, essential worker which come from COVID baseline sample
bThree individuals who lived in Yukon and Nunavut at the time of the COVID-19 exit interview were added to the missing category and excluded from analyses
cPhysical Activity: low risk = at least 150 min of moderate-intensity or at least 75 min of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week; high risk = less than 150 min of moderate-intensity or at least 75 min of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week
dSocial Participation: low social participation = in the lowest sex- and age-specific quintiles of social participation; high social participation = in the top four sex- and age-specific quintiles of social participation