{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,25]],"date-time":"2026-03-25T17:17:50Z","timestamp":1774459070016,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,20]],"date-time":"2025-06-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1750377600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"FCT\u2013Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia, I. P.","award":["UIDB\/00742\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/00742\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Healthcare"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the mental health of the general population, particularly older adults. This study aimed to explore the association between loneliness and mental health disorders in this demographic during the pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Portugal using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) database between June and August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic (Wave 8 COVID-19 Survey), using computer-assisted telephone interviews. Results: The final sample included 836 participants, with 387 (46.4%) men and a mean age of 74.5 years (SD = 6.7). Mental health indicators revealed that 441 (52.1%) reported feelings of nervousness, 384 (45.3%) experienced sadness or depression, 349 (41.2%) encountered sleeping difficulties, and 280 (33.1%) reported experiencing loneliness often or some of the time. Increased feelings of loneliness were notably associated with women in poorer health, those with heightened fear of falling, dizziness, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and concurrent health and sleep issues. Age and medication use did not significantly impact feelings of loneliness. Conclusions: The findings highlight a potential association between adverse mental health outcomes among older adults during the initial phase of the pandemic. Future research, employing longitudinal research designs, is warranted to explore these relationships more rigorously, in a post-pandemic context, and to inform effective intervention development and strategies to prevent mental health problems within this vulnerable population.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/healthcare13131483","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,20]],"date-time":"2025-06-20T08:13:56Z","timestamp":1750407236000},"page":"1483","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Loneliness and Mental Health Disorders in Older Adults Living in Portugal During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Odete","family":"Ara\u00fajo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"},{"name":"Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E), Nursing School of Coimbra (ESEnfC), 3045-043 Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"Nursing Research Centre, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1749-4695","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lia","family":"Sousa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vale do Ave Higher School of Health, 4760-409 Vila Nova de Famalic\u00e3o, Portugal"},{"name":"CINTESIS@RISE, Nursing School of Porto (ESEP), 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9245-256X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francisco","family":"Sampaio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CINTESIS@RISE, Nursing School of Porto (ESEP), 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Nursing School of Porto (ESEP), University of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-5609-1346","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cl\u00e1udia","family":"Rodrigues","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"},{"name":"Nursing Research Centre, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8110-7173","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nadine Correia","family":"Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"},{"name":"ICVS\/3B\u2019s\u2014PT Government Associate Laboratory, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5620-3478","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlos","family":"Sequeira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CINTESIS@RISE, Nursing School of Porto (ESEP), 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Nursing School of Porto (ESEP), University of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Laetitia","family":"Teixeira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2023, December 12). 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