Loneliness is associated with eating disorders among a national sample of U.S. college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective

To identify the association between loneliness and eating disorder symptomatology among a national sample of U.S. college students during COVID-19.

Participants

Cross-sectional data from the 2020–2021 Healthy Minds Study (N = 96,645) were analyzed.

Methods

Loneliness was measured using the UCLA 3-item Loneliness Scale and eating disorder symptomology was measured using the SCOFF questionnaire. Multiple modified Poisson regression analyses were conducted, adjusting for confounding variables.

Results

Greater loneliness was associated with both a positive eating disorder screen (risk ratio [RR] 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09–1.10) and greater number of eating disorder symptoms (RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.06–1.08). Gender modified this relationship, and men who endorsed greater loneliness had higher risk of eating disorder symptomatology compared to women.

Conclusions

Loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a greater risk of eating disorder symptomatology among college students. Findings underscore the need for social support and eating disorders programming on college campuses.

Keywords:

• College students
• COVID-19
• eating disorders
• loneliness
• young adults

Ethics approval

Healthy Minds Study was approved by the Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board at the University of Michigan and all participating institutions. Given the data are anonymous and publicly available, this analysis was exempt from further ­ethics approval.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Authors’ contributions

All authors conceptualized the study. Kyle T. Ganson managed the data and conducted the statistical analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was drafted by Kyle T. Ganson and Kelly Cuccolo. All author edited previous versions of the manuscript and read and approved the final manuscript as submitted.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements of Canada and the United States. This study was exempt from research ethics approval by the University of Toronto’s Research Ethics Board given the data are publicly available and anonymous. Healthy Minds Study is approved by all Institutional Review Boards of participating colleges and universities.

Availability of data and material

The Healthy Minds Study is available to researchers. Please visit http://healthymindsnetwork.org for more information.

Additional information

Funding

JMN is supported by the National Institutes of Health (K08HL159350) and the American Heart Association (CDA34760281). No funding was used to support this research.