Review Article Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord Extra 2021;11:26–28 COVID-19 Has Made the Elderly Lonelier Mahdi Naeim a Ali Rezaeisharif b Aziz Kamran a a Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran; b Department of Counseling, University of Mohaghegh Ardebili, Ardabil, Iran Received: December 29, 2020 Accepted: December 29, 2020 Published online: February 16, 2021 Mahdi Naeim Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences University Street Ardabil 5613644 (Iran) mnaeim64 @gmail.com © 2021 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel karger@karger.com www.karger.com/dee DOI: 10.1159/000514181 Keywords COVID-19 · Elderly · Aging Abstract Loneliness is a major risk factor for the elderly and can dou- ble their problems. When COVID-19 started, things became more difficult for the elderly. The news that the elderly are at a higher risk for severe COVID-19 than others made the el- derly lonelier. This is a library type study that was conducted over 2 months using valid scientific sources and books. Based on the findings of this study, we believe that focusing on education and reminding people of the necessary dos and don’ts of illness, modifying their diet, emphasizing masking, and even familiarizing the elderly with social media and virtual activities will prevent them from suffering loneli- ness. © 2021 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel Loneliness is a major risk factor for the elderly and can double their problems. When COVID-19 started, things became more difficult for the elderly. The news that the elderly are at a higher risk for severe COVID-19 than oth- ers made the elderly lonelier [1]. Jalil is immersed in loneliness. Most of the time he is alone, and the TV that now shows colored lines is on the verge of burning out. He was married for 12 years, and when his wife died his lifestyle became lonely. Now, with the advent of COVID-19 and home quarantine, he is even lonelier. He is over 70 years old, and unemployment and loneliness have made him more tired. After retiring, he started a business with 1 or 2 of his friends. However, as a result of COVID-19 he has been confined to his house again. He feels useless and impatient. He no longer likes television and only listens constantly to the radio. He does not talk to anyone these days and that is what makes him depressed [2]. The quarantine has made 64-year-old Karim obses- sive, and fear has become a major part of his life. He sleeps thanks to a pill but still wakes up several times a night due to stress and tension. He was not like that at all before, but these days the fear of getting COVID-19 and dying fills his mind. Fear took over his existence after he heard the news that one of his relatives died alone [1, 2]. Severe Mental Conditions in the Elderly Many elderly people, in addition to being alone, do not have enough knowledge of the virtual world and cannot enjoy the benefits of cyberspace [2, 3]. The lack of a proper infrastructure for the elderly is a major problem. It is necessary to establish the necessary infrastructure to increase the participation of the elderly after the COVID-19 crisis. Due to the lack of infrastruc- Tis article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY- NC-ND) (http://www.karger.com/Services/OpenAccessLicense). Usage and distribution for commercial purposes as well as any dis- tribution of modifed material requires written permission.