Loneliness, but not social isolation, is a risk factor for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in university students in Tokyo, Japan

被引：0

作者：

Yuki Goto ^{[1
]}

Nobutoshi Nawa ^{[2
]}

Toshihide Nakayama ^{[3
]}

Motohiro Sato ^{[4
]}

Isao Satoh ^{[5
]}

Hajime Nitta ^{[6
]}

Shusho Okada ^{[7
]}

Kenji Wakabayashi ^{[8
]}

Takeo Fujiwara ^{[2
]}

机构：

[1] Institute of Science Tokyo,Department of Tokyo Metropolitan Health Policy Advisement

[2] Institute of Science Tokyo,Department of Public Health

[3] Tokyo University of Foreign Studies,Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa

[4] Hitotsubashi University,Graduate School of Economics

[5] Institute of Science Tokyo,Office of Institute Strategy

[6] Institute of Science Tokyo,Research Development Center

[7] Institute of Science Tokyo,Department of Health Policy

[8] Institute of Science Tokyo,Department of Intensive Care Medicine

来源：

Scientific Reports | / 15卷 / 1期

关键词：

Social isolation; Loneliness; COVID-19; Vaccine hesitancy; University students; Japan;

D O I：

10.1038/s41598-025-01110-2

中图分类号：

学科分类号：

摘要：

During the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation, especially among university students, was a significant problem due to limited campus visits. This social environment could influence COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy because of a lack of accurate information or fear of novel behaviors resulting from loneliness. This study examined the association of social isolation and loneliness with vaccine hesitancy among university students in Tokyo. An online questionnaire was administered to all students at the Union of Four Universities in Tokyo in March 2022. Respondents were asked about their vaccination frequency, social isolation, loneliness, and other covariates including mental health. Vaccine hesitant were defined as those who had never been vaccinated or had been vaccinated only once during the third vaccination period. Logistic regression analysis was performed. Of the 2,907 students, 1,080 (37.2%) were socially isolated, 480 (16.5%) felt lonely and 113 (3.9%) were vaccine hesitant. Lonely students hesitated vaccine 2.08 times more than non-lonely students (95% CI: 1.25–3.44), which was not true for social isolation (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 0.69–1.65). Loneliness, but not social isolation, was associated with vaccine hesitancy among university students in Tokyo. These findings can be used to plan vaccination programs for adolescents and young adults against future pandemics.

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