Increased COVID-19-related fear and subjective risk perception regarding COVID-19 affects behavior in individuals with internal high-risk diseases

Kohler, Hannah; Bäuerle, Alexander; Schweda, Adam; Weismüller, Benjamin; Fink, Madeleine; Musche, Venja; Robitzsch, Anita; Pfeiffer, Corinna; Benecke, Anke-Verena; Dörrie, Nora; Führer, Dagmar; Taube, Christian; Rassaf, Tienush; Teufel, Martin; Skoda, Eva-Maria

doi:10.1177/2150132721996898

Cited by 49 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Our finding contrasts with another study that reported that older adults with preexisting conditions were more concerned about contracting COVID-19 [45]. This could be because older adults with preexisting conditions have already navigated health services, and thus they know where and how to access health care [46].…”

Section: Plos Onecontrasting

confidence: 99%

Perceived fear of COVID-19 and its associated factors among Nepalese older adults in eastern Nepal: A cross-sectional study

Yadav

Singh

et al. 2021

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected all age groups worldwide, but older adults have been affected greatly with an increased risk of severe illness and mortality. Nepal is struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. The normal life of older adults, one of the vulnerable populations to COVID-19 infection, has been primarily impacted. The current evidence shows that the COVID-19 virus strains are deadly, and non-compliance to standard protocols can have serious consequences, increasing fear among older adults. This study assessed the perceived fear of COVID-19 and associated factors among older adults in eastern Nepal. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between July and September 2020 among 847 older adults (≥60 years) residing in three districts of eastern Nepal. Perceived fear of COVID-19 was measured using the seven-item Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S). Multivariate logistic regression identified the factors associated with COVID-19 fear. Results The mean score of the FCV-19S was 18.1 (SD = 5.2), and a sizeable proportion of older adults, ranging between 12%-34%, agreed with the seven items of the fear scale. Increasing age, Dalit ethnicity, remoteness to the health facility, and being concerned or overwhelmed with the COVID-19 were associated with greater fear of COVID-19. In contrast, preexisting health conditions were inversely associated with fear. Conclusion Greater fear of the COVID-19 among the older adults in eastern Nepal suggests that during unprecedented times such as the current pandemic, the psychological needs of older adults should be prioritized. Establishing and integrating community-level mental health support as a part of the COVID-19 preparedness and response plan might help to combat COVID-19 fear among them.

show abstract

Section: Plos Onecontrasting

confidence: 99%

Perceived fear of COVID-19 and its associated factors among Nepalese older adults in eastern Nepal: A cross-sectional study

Yadav

Singh

et al. 2021

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The ndings are in line with previous research from cross-sectional studies worldwide showing elevated mental health burden during the current pandemic [7,9,38] and in individuals suffering from high-risk diseases [17] such as cancer [38]. Therefore, it appears that individuals with diabetes suffer strongly from psychological burden due to the pandemic.…”

Section: Principal Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Recent literature indicates that diabetes patients report overall higher COVID-19-related fear [28]. Moreover Kohler et al [17] showed that the more high-risk diseases were reported, the higher COVID-19-related fear was. Thus, elevated levels of COVID-19-related fear might be seen as a re ection of diabetes patients' increased need for a sense of security.…”

Section: Principal Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other risk factors for psychological burden in the context of COVID-19 include pre-existing somatic diseases like diabetes, arterial hypertension, cardiovascular or respiratory disorders [17,18]. The preexisting medical conditions of several somatic diseases can lead to a more severe course of COVID-19 [19] and thus they were de ned as high-risk morbidities for COVID-19 [20,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mental Health Burden of Patients With Diabetes Before And After The Outbreak of COVID-19: Predictors of Mental Health Impairment

Moradian

Teufel

Jahre

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people’s mental health worldwide. Patients with diabetes are at risk for a severe course when infected with SARS-CoV-2. The present study aims to retrospectively examine mental health changes in patients with diabetes in Germany before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, and to furthermore explore potential predictors of such changes.Methods: Over the course of eight weeks in early summer 2020, 253 individuals diagnosed with diabetes participated in an online cross-sectional study. Participants completed an anonymous survey including demographics, depression (PHQ-2) and generalized anxiety symptoms (GAD-2), distress (DT), and health status (EQ-5D-3L). In addition, all instruments used were adjusted to measure participants’ mental health and health status before the COVID-19 outbreak. Additionally examined factors were COVID-19-related fear, trust in governmental actions to face the pandemic, and the subjective level of information about COVID-19.Results: This study shows a significant increase in prevalence of depression symptoms, generalized anxiety symptoms and distress, as well as significantly decreased health statuses in diabetes patients after the COVID-19 outbreak. Increased depression symptoms, generalized anxiety symptoms and distress were predicted by COVID-19-related fear, whereas trust in governmental actions to face COVID-19 predicted higher depression symptoms.Conclusions: The results indicate a negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on mental health and health status in patients with diabetes. In order to improve the efficacy of psychological support strategies for diabetes patients during the pandemic, possible predictors of mental health impairment such as the aforementioned should be examined more thoroughly and addressed more openly.

show abstract

“…It is already known that patients with at least one of these high-risk conditions suffer from a more severe course of COVID-19 infection and have increased mortality. For instance, according to data from the United States, approximately one-third of COVID-19-infected patients (2692, 38%) had at least one chronic disease or risk factor; the most common were cardiovascular diseases (647, 9%), chronic lung diseases (656, 9.2%), and diabetes (784, 11%) [34]. Furthermore, based on the meta-analysis including 22,148 patients from 40 studies, Liang et al revealed the significant association between coronary heart disease and poor prognosis of COVID-19 (OR = 3.42, 95%CI [2.83, 4.13], p < 0.001); this correlation was affected mostly by hypertension (p = 0.004) [35].…”

Section: The Most Significant Findings Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of the COVID-19 Emergency on Life Activities and Delivery of Healthcare Services in the Elderly Population

Agrawal

Makuch

Dróżdż

et al. 2021

JCM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Due to the prevailing pandemic of the coronavirus disease COVID-19, we are experiencing emotional and social isolation, which negatively affects mental and physical health, particularly among the elderly population. In this study, we performed a cross-sectional analysis based on computer-assisted telephone interviews of 500 Polish adults aged 60 years or older in order to determine the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the older population’s behavior, life activity, and delivery of healthcare services. According to our study, COVID-19 infection entailed a substantial change in older people’s behavior. Over 50%, nearly 80%, and more than 25% of the surveyed participants reduced their social, recreational, and professional activities, respectively. The most significant change in senior’s behavior due to the fear of COVID-19 infection was observed in patients (1) with cardiac and pulmonary problems, (2) being on multi-drug therapy, (3) vaccinated against influenza, and (4) with several mental difficulties including loneliness, social isolation, and depression. Furthermore, we demonstrated that 10% of participants canceled planned hospitalization due to the fear of COVID-19 infection. This was observed primarily in patients suffering from chronic heart and lung diseases, vaccinated against influenza, exhibiting the reluctance to carry out more complex daily activities, and with a higher level of anxiety, social loneliness, and malnutrition. Thus, these groups of seniors require more attention; hence, we propose telemedicine as a strategy directed to them that provides clinical healthcare and information regarding measurements, control, and protection against SARS-CoV-2 during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. We believe this strategy may improve treatment outcomes, reduce comorbidities-related complications and unnecessary hospitalizations.

show abstract

Increased COVID-19-related fear and subjective risk perception regarding COVID-19 affects behavior in individuals with internal high-risk diseases

Cited by 49 publications

References 46 publications

Perceived fear of COVID-19 and its associated factors among Nepalese older adults in eastern Nepal: A cross-sectional study

Perceived fear of COVID-19 and its associated factors among Nepalese older adults in eastern Nepal: A cross-sectional study

Mental Health Burden of Patients With Diabetes Before And After The Outbreak of COVID-19: Predictors of Mental Health Impairment

The Impact of the COVID-19 Emergency on Life Activities and Delivery of Healthcare Services in the Elderly Population

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About