(HealthDay News) — During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in the prevalence of clinically significant depressive symptoms among older adults, according to a study published online Dec. 22 in JAMA Psychiatry.
Paola Zaninotto, Ph.D., from the University College London, and colleagues conducted a longitudinal cohort study involving data from 5,146 older adults participating in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Participants provided data before the COVID-19 pandemic and on two occasions in 2020 (June or July and November or December).
The researchers observed an increase in the prevalence of clinically significant depressive symptoms from 12.5% before the COVID-19 pandemic to 22.6 and 28.5% in June and July and in November and December 2020, respectively. The increase was accompanied by increased loneliness and a decline in quality of life. From June and July 2020 to November and December 2020, the prevalence of anxiety increased from 9.4 to 10.9%. Worse changes in mental health were experienced by women and nonpartnered individuals. Before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lowest levels of mental health were seen for participants with less wealth. Better mental health overall was seen for higher socioeconomic groups, but they responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with more negative changes.
“As the COVID-19 crisis extends beyond 2020, there is a need to sustain the mental health of older people in the population and to plan health and social support services as face-to-face contact becomes more feasible,” the authors write.
