Project #70:
Lone households and mental health outcomes

Loneliness and living alone have been linked with poor mental and physical health. Evidence suggests that the COVID pandemic exacerbated feelings of loneliness, social isolation and connectivity, due to national lockdowns, social distancing rules and shielding. There is also evidence that the pandemic increased psychological distress including feelings of anxiety and depression, and perhaps particularly for those living alone.

This study will use a large cohort of adults to see how diagnoses of mental health conditions changed before and during the COVID pandemic, and how this differed among people living alone and not living alone.