  We say that a subgroup $H$ is isolated in a group $G$ if for every $x\in G$
we have either $x\in H$ or $\langle x\rangle\cap H=1$. In this short note, we
describe the set of isolated subgroups of a finite abelian group. The technique
used is based on an interesting connection between isolated subgroups and the
function sum of element orders of a finite group.
