Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health

Population Health Research Brief Series

Older Women in the U.S. Were Lonelier Than Men During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Qiyu Deng

March 2025

Related:

Lerner Center Population Health Research Brief Series

Abstract

Loneliness damages health and quality of life. The COVID-19 pandemic increased social isolation and loneliness among some groups in the United States.

This data slice describes gender and age differences in loneliness among older adults (50+) in the U.S. during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The author finds that loneliness was more prevalent among women than among men, with the highest rate among women ages 80 and older.

Media Coverage

Colleen Heflin

Jan 23, 2026

Heflin Discusses SNAP Work Requirements, Food Insecurity Data in Mother Jones Article

Federal, Food Security, Labor, Nutrition, State & Local, United States

Media Coverage

Robert B. Murrett

Jan 22, 2026

Murrett Speaks With CBS News About US-Iran Relations

Conflict, Government, International Affairs, Middle East & North Africa, United States

Research

Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern

Jan 22, 2026

Contemporary Land Transitions in the US: Critical Questions of Concentration and (Re)Distribution

Agriculture, Rural Issues, United States

Media Coverage

Portrait of a person smiling outdoors with a brick building in the background.

Jan 21, 2026

Griffiths Comments on the US’s Ability to Acquire Greenland in La Presse Article

Congress, Europe, Federal, International Affairs, National Security, Tariffs, United States

See CPR's Research

Attend an event

Support CPR

Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health