The sense of loneliness and meaning in life in post-COVID convalescents-a preliminary study

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 epidemic has provided opportunity to study the impact of a well-defined severe illness on the development of a depressive episode and the associated sense of loneliness and lack of meaning in life.

Materials and methods: The aim of the study was to assess the occurrence of a reactive depressive episode, the severity of depression, a sense of loneliness and meaning in life in subjects who approximately a year earlier than the date of the study had suffered from a pulmonary form of SARS-CoV-2 infection with radiologically documented interstitial lesions of the lungs, requiring and not requiring hospitalization compared to people who did not develop the disease as a result of infection with that virus. The study included 63 subjects hospitalized for pulmonary lesions, 67 not hospitalized and 60 healthy controls. The severity of depressive symptoms was measured using a Polish-language standardized version of the Beck Depression Inventory, a sense of loneliness using the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, and a sense of meaning in life using the Life Attitude Profile-Revised.

Results: The frequency of depression and its severity were found to be the highest in hospitalized patients compared to those treated at home and healthy people. A significant difference in the frequency of depression and its severity between outpatients and healthy people was also observed. The feeling of loneliness turned out to be greatest in the group of hospitalized people. Also, the severity of loneliness was found to be higher in the outpatient compared to the control group. The sense of meaning in life reached its lowest level among hospitalized patients, was moderately reduced in the outpatient group, and typical of the Polish population in the control group.

Discussion: Both pulmonary SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization have been shown to be a risk factor for depression, increased feeling of loneliness and a reduced sense of meaning in life. The effect of trauma and the presence of depression can be the explanation for the increased sense of loneliness after the illness and the partial breakdown of the lifeline manifested by a decrease in the sense of meaning in life.

Keywords: DJGLS; LAP-R; SARS-CoV-2 infection; depression; feeling of loneliness; sense of meaning in life.

Figure 1

Differences between convalescents who were hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 infection, convalescents who did not require hospitalization for SARS-CoV-2 infection and people who had never had SARS-CoV-2 infection in (A) severity depression according to the BDI-II scale; (B) feeling of loneliness on the DJGLS scale; (C) dimension of the LAP-r scale: Purpose (CU); (D) dimension of the LAP-r scale: Coherence (CO).

Figure 2

Differences between convalescents who were hospitalized due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, convalescents who did not require hospitalization due to SARS-CoV-2 infection and people who had never had a SARS-CoV-2 infection in (A) dimension LAP-r scale: Choice/Responsibleness (CR); (B) dimension of the LAP-r scale: Death Acceptance (DA); (C) dimension of the LAP-r scale: Existential Vacuum (EV); (D) dimension of the LAP-r scale: Goal Seeking (GS); (E) dimension of the LAP-r scale: The Personal Meaning Index (TPMI); (F) dimension of the LAP-r scale: Existential Transcendence (ET).

Figure 3

The relationship between the severity of depression on the BDI-II scale and the sense of loneliness on the DJGLS scale and the dimensions on the LAP-r scale, as well as the relationship between the sense of loneliness on the DJGLS scale and the dimensions on the LAP-r scale for convalescent patients who were hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Figure 4

Relationship between the severity of depression in the BDI-II scale and the feeling of loneliness in the DJGLS scale and the dimensions in the LAP-r scale, as well as the relationship between the sense of loneliness in the DJGLS scale and the dimensions in the LAP-r scale for convalescent patients who did not require hospitalization with due to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Figure 5

The relationship between the severity of depression in the BDI-II scale and the feeling of loneliness in the DJGLS scale and the dimensions in the LAP-r scale, as well as the relationship between the sense of loneliness in the DJGLS scale and the dimensions in the LAP-r scale for patients who have never had a SARS-CoV-2.