Pre-existing mental health disorders and fear of COVID-19 pandemic: Data from a phone survey in community-dwelling older adults recruited in the NutBrain study (original) (raw)
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2022
Background: The pandemic of COVID-19 is considered as one of the major threats that affected all age groups all over the world. Old age group has been highly affected with increased risk of severe health complications that may result in several mental health problems such as anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, sleep problems, or any other mental health disorder. Thus the aim of this study is to investigate the fear of COVID-19 infection and its relation to depressive and anxiety symptoms among elderly population during COVID-19 outbreak. A survey was distributed online through social media via a link to people who are 60 years old or above (N = 161). Results: The average score of fear of COVID-19 scale was 17.7 ± 5.4. There was a highly statistically significant correlation between anxiety subscale, depression subscale, and total score of hospital anxiety and depression scale with fear of COVID-19 score. Conclusions: Participants who were more worried about having the disease developed more symptoms of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is necessary to screen the older people for the COVID-19-related fear and accompanying psychological disorders.
Journal of Affective Disorders
Background: We aimed to assess the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, hopelessness and insomnia in the older adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic identifying subgroups at higher risk of mental distress. Methods: Within the Lost in Lombardy project, a web-based cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample of 4400 older adults aged 65 years or more from the Lombardy region recruited between November 17th and 30th 2020. Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms increased by +112 % during the pandemic, anxiety symptoms by +136 %, insufficient sleep by +12 %, unsatisfactory sleep by +15 %. Feelings of hopelessness were more frequent among women compared to men and increased with increasing age. A worsening in each of the four specific mental health outcomes was more frequently observed in women (OR = 1.50, depression; OR = 1.31, anxiety; OR = 1.57, sleep quality; OR = 1.38, sleep quantity), in subjects who decreased their physical activity during the pandemic (OR = 1.64, depression; OR = 1.48, anxiety; OR = 2.05, sleep quality; OR = 1.28, sleep quantity), and with increasing number of pre-existing chronic diseases. The use of at least one psychotropic drug mostly antidepressants/anxiolyticsincreased by +26 % compared to pre-pandemic. Limitations: Pre-pandemic symptoms were retrospectively reported during the Covid pandemic. Potential information and recall bias should not be ruled out. Conclusions: If confirmed by future longitudinal studies, our findings could support evidence-based health and welfare policies on responding to this pandemic and on how to promote mental health and wellbeing, should future waves of infection emerge.
2021
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a global crisis, necessitating an investigation of its effects from a mental health and wellbeing perspective. In Italy within a few weeks of detecting the first case of coronavirus (February 20, 2020), the country imposed a nationwide quarantine to reduce transmission of the virus disrupting people's daily lives, and creating a significant impact on their physical and mental health. Methods: We sought to test the mediating role of the fear of COVID-19 in the association between mental distress and risky health behaviours in a population of 592 Italian adults, including 467 females and 124 males (M= 39.7; SD= 16.4; range 18-79). First, we hypothesized a direct positive effect of mental distress, measured through the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) on risky health behaviours, recorded throughout an adaptation of the Ebola risk behaviour scale, second, a direct and negative association between mental distress and fear of COVID-19 and...
Psychogeriatrics, 2021
Background: The elderly are more vulnerable to COVID-19 and therefore need to adopt long-term social distancing measures. The duration of quarantine impacts the psychological status of the general population. However, until now no study has explored the psychological impact of the pandemic and quarantine together with longitudinal changes in the mental health status of Italian elderly. Methods: An online questionnaire including an assessment of depression, anxiety, anger, post-traumatic stress, subjective cognitive failures, resilience, coping style, and other dimensions related to the pandemic was completed by participants during (T0) and two months after the end (T1) of the quarantine. Results: The sample recruited at T0 included 334 elderly participants. About 45% of the participants experienced depression, anxiety, or anger. Moreover, more fear of getting infected was related to more severe depression, anxiety, and anger, but resilience was found to mediate these relationships. More severe depressive and anger symptoms were related to more severe cognitive failures. No significant difference was observed in mental health scores between T0 and T1. Finally, more severe depression at T0 was associated with the development of post-traumatic stress symptoms at T1. Conclusions: The fear of getting infected, probably due to perceived vulnerability to disease, seems to play a crucial role in the development of psychological symptoms in the elderly, but resilience seems to mediate the impact of fear. The presence of long-term psychological consequences and the possible risk of developing PTS symptoms in the elderly suggest the need for targeted interventions to reduce possible long-term psychological and cognitive consequences.
Anxiety symptoms during COVID-19 in older adults with psychiatric disorders
Frontiers in Psychiatry
ObjectiveDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, older people and patients with psychiatric disorders had an increased risk of being isolated. The French National Authority for Health has recommended a reinforced follow-up of these patients. Cross-sectional studies reported an increased risk of developing anxiety and depression during pandemic. The aim of our study was to identify factors associated with higher anxiety during the pandemic in older patients with psychiatric disorders.MethodsSTERACOVID is a multicenter cohort study with 117 patients followed-up by phone in two French geriatric psychiatry units. In this work, we used cross-sectional data from a prospective follow-up conducted between January and May 2021.ResultsWe found that coping strategies, personality, and living conditions were associated with general anxiety (GA) level during the pandemic period. Higher GA was associated with less positive thinking coping strategy, more avoidance strategies, a lower level of extraversion, ...
A Study of Older Adults’ Mental Health across 33 Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
Despite older adults’ extremely high vulnerability to COVID-19 complications and death, few studies have examined how personal characteristics and the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the mental health of older adults at the global level. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among demographics, COVID-19 life impacts, and depression and anxiety in adults aged 60 and older from 33 countries. A sample of 823 older adults aged 60–94 and residing in 33 countries completed a 10-min online survey following recruitment from mailing lists and social media. Being separated from and having conflicts with loved ones predicted both anxiety and depression, as did residing in a country with higher income. Getting medical treatment for severe symptoms of COVID-19 and having decreased work responsibilities predicted depression, but adjustment to working from home and younger age predicted both depression and anxiety. Participants from Europe and Central Asia reported higher depr...
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on wellbeing and cognitive functioning of older adults
Scientific Reports, 2021
COVID-19 took a heavy toll on older adults. In Belgium, by the end of August, 93% of deaths due to COVID-19 were aged 65 or older. Similar trends were observed in other countries. As a consequence, older adults were identified as a group at risk, and strict governmental restrictions were imposed on them. This has caused concerns about their mental health. Using an online survey, this study established the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adults aged 65 years or older, and which factors moderate this impact. Participants reported a significant decrease in activity level, sleep quality and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Depression was strongly related to reported declines in activity level, sleep quality, wellbeing and cognitive functioning. Our study shows that the COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the mental health of older adults. This implies that this group at risk requires attention of governments and healthcare.
Cognitive Failure and Fear of COVID-19
Practice in Clinical Psychology
Objective: In this study, the authors seek to investigate the relationship between cognitive impairment and fear of COVID-19. Among the residents of Tehran Province, Iran, 415 people were selected through the available sampling method. Methods: The research data was obtained through online questionnaires that were distributed to participants via platforms, such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Broadbent’s cognitive failure questionnaire and the scale of fear of COVID-19 were used in this study. The obtained data were analyzed by the independent t test and stepwise regression. Results: According to the findings, the relationship between following COVID-19 news and the fear of COVID-19 is negative. Also, a positive and significant relationship exists between memory error and fear of COVID-19. Also, the standard coefficients show that despite the direction of the effect, both variables have the same power to change the dependent variable. Conclusion: The findings showed that the s...
Levels and Predictors of COVID-19-Related Anxiety in Older Adults
Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 2022
BACKGROUND: Prolonged quarantine during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is a stressful factor. AIM: This study aims to analyze the psycho-emotional state of Jordan's older population during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study on 620 older adults (mean age, 66.4 ± 5.3 years) was conducted in 2020 in Amman (Jordan). All respondents were asked to complete an online survey on coping strategies, a HUDS questionnaire, and a specially designed questionnaire. RESULTS: The main associated factors of stress were uncertainty (62%) and a fear of other family members getting ill (60%). Of all the respondents, 15% agreed with the necessity to prolong the quarantine period, 47% had a neutral attitude, and 38% exhibited a negative attitude. High levels of anxiety in older population were associated with the lower use of humor (H = 11.498, p ≤ 0.002). On the other hand, such respondents demonstrated the higher use of planning (H = 6.227, p ≤ 0.039), venting (H = 11.087, p ≤ 0.004), avoidance (H = 7.457, p ≤ 0.019), and active coping (H = 6.043, p ≤ 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: Most of COVID-19 cases are registered in healthcare institutions and for that reason there is a need to provide psychiatric care to medical workers who do not have the necessary experience in this area. This may also require the state to promote psychiatric care training.
Considerations for Mitigation of the Psychological Impacts of COVID-19 in Older Adults
International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery, 2020
There have been numerous outbreaks of infectious diseases in the world. On January 30, 2020, theWorld Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)a Public Health Emergency.1 The pandemic has caused not only the risk of death, but also too muchpsychological pressure on people all over the world.Older adults are more susceptible to severe infections, cascade of complications, disability, anddeath.2, 3 The elderly might also be more vulnerable to mental health problems because of theirhigher risk of infection.4 They may experience adverse feelings such as fear of death because ofthe potential lethality of the illness. Some of them claim that dying from coronavirus is a horriblenuisance for them because none of their family members would be able to attend their funeral.They are also afraid of being hospitalized in medical facilities that lack sufficient equipment.They fear that if they contract the virus, no one will be able to visit or help th...