Interactive changes in depression and loneliness symptoms prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal network analysis

Objectives: Depression and loneliness co-occur frequently. This study examined interactive changes between depression and loneliness among older adults prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic from a longitudinal network perspective. Methods: This network study was based on data from three waves (2016–2017, 2018–2019, and 2020) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Depression and loneliness were measured with the eight-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-8) and three item version of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale, respectively. A network model was constructed using an Ising Model while network differences were assessed using a Network Comparison Test. Central symptoms were identified via Expected Influence (EI). Results: A total of 4,293 older adults were included in this study. The prevalence and network of depression and loneliness did not change significantly between the baseline and pre-pandemic assessments but increased significantly from the pre-pandemic assessment to during COVID-19 assessment. The central symptom with the strongest increase from pre-pandemic to pandemic assessments was "Inability to get going" (CESD8) and the edge with the highest increase across depression-loneliness symptom communities was “Lack companionship” (UCLA1) - "Inability to get going" (CESD8). Finally, “Feeling depressed” (CESD1) and “Everything was an effort" (CESD2) were the most central symptoms over the three assessment periods. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with significant changes in the depression-loneliness network model. The most changed symptoms and edges could be treatment targets for reducing the risk of depression and loneliness in older adults.