Anxiety and depression symptoms in older adults during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A community-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has caused high morbidity and mortality in older adults over the world. Because the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic greatly affects older adults who have a preexisting health condition, they are generally susceptible to a high incidence of severe symptoms of anxiety and depression. Therefore, we aimed to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in older adults during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was completed in August 2020. Standardized and pretested General Anxiety Disorder–7 and Geriatric Depression Scale were used to screen the symptoms of anxiety and depression, respectively. Data were entered into EpiData (version 4.3.2) and transferred to SPSS (version 24) for further analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to determine the significantly associated variables with a 95% confidence interval at p < 0.05. Results: Of the total older adults interviewed, 68.7% had developed symptoms of anxiety and 59.9% had symptoms of depression during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Female participants, having a chronic disease and poor knowledge of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, were significantly associated with anxiety symptoms. Age category of 81 to 90 and above 90, lack of social support, and having a chronic disease were significantly associated with symptoms of depression. Conclusion: The symptoms of anxiety and depression among older adults in the North Shoa Zone during coronavirus disease 2019 were higher than before the coronavirus disease 2019 happened. The results were evidence points for developing a psychological intervention to tackle the older adults’ mental health needs in the community during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Fear of COVID-19 infection and its relation to depressive and anxiety symptoms among elderly population: online survey

“…This might be related to the relation between perceived health status of older adults (where most of the participants in the study had chronic diseases) and their mental health which indicates that health status does directly relate with their mental health. Older adults who have poor health status may be more prone to depression and anxiety These results were concordant with Kemal J et al 2021 which was done in Ethiopia and showed that females and older age participants (80-91 years old) developed more depressive and anxiety symptoms [27]. The current study was inconsistent with Subjash et al 2021, which was done in Chandigarh City on 92 elderly participants and also inconsistent with Vahia et al 2020 which showed that the elderly had lower levels of anxiety and depression and that higher age was associated with lesser psychological impact as well as higher resilience among them.…”

A cross-sectional study of the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on camped refugees in Ghana

“…Feeling of worry of coming into contact with other refugees, stigma associated with contracting the disease and risk of contracting the disease because of living arrangements within the camps, were also common. Similar findings have been reported among other vulnerable populations including those with insecure livelihoods, physically challenged, the elderly, immigrants, minority groups and displaced populations [52][53][54][55][56][57][58].…”

Anxiety and Stress Related to COVID-19 Among the Community Dwelling Older Adults Residing in the Largest Refugee Camp of the World

“…Another study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic on Bhutanese and Burmese refugees (aged 30–50 years) showed that 68.8% of the participants had stress (Zhang et al, 2022 ). While these studies were focused on adult population, an Ethiopian study showed a 68.7% prevalence of anxiety among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic (Jemal et al, 2021 ). Several factors may explain the differences in anxiety and stress levels among participants in the above studies and those in the current study.…”