Mental wellbeing in the German old age population largely unaltered during COVID-19 lockdown: results of a representative survey

Abstract

Background Older individuals are at increased risk of a severe and lethal course of COVID-19. They have typically been advised to practice particularly restrictive social distancing (‘cocooning’), which has sparked much debate on the consequences for their mental wellbeing. We aimed to provide evidence by conducting a representative survey among the German old population during COVID-19 lockdown. Methods A computer-assisted standardized telephone interview was conducted in a randomly selected and representative sample of the German old age population (n = 1005; age ≥ 65 years) during the first lockdown in April 2020. Assessments included sociodemographic factors, aspects of the personal life situation during lockdown, attitudes towards COVID-19, and standardized screening measures on depression, anxiety, somatization, overall psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory/BSI-18) and loneliness (UCLA 3-item loneliness scale). Sampling-weighted descriptive statistics and multiple multivariable regression analyses were conducted. Results Participants were M = 75.5 (SD = 7.1) years old; 56.3% were women. At data collection, COVID-19 lockdown had been in force for M = 28.0 (SD = 4.8) days. Overall, older individuals were worried about COVID-19, but supportive of the lockdown. Mean BSI-18 scores were 1.4 for depression, 1.6 for anxiety and 2.2 for somatization as well as 5.1 for global psychological distress. These figures did not indicate worse mental wellbeing, given normative values established by studies before the pandemic (2.0, 1.6, 2.4, 6.0, respectively). The prevalence of loneliness was 13.1%, which also fell within a range of estimates reported by studies before the pandemic. There were only few significant associations of aspects of the personal life situation during lockdown and attitudes towards COVID-19 with mental wellbeing. Resilience explained a large amount of variance. Conclusions In the short-term, the mental wellbeing of the German old age population was largely unaltered during COVID-19 lockdown, suggesting resilience against the challenging pandemic situation. Our results refute common ageist stereotypes of “the weak and vulnerable older adults” that were present during the pandemic. Long-term observations are needed to provide robust evidence.

A longitudinal study monitoring the quality of life in a national cohort of older adults in Chile before and during the COVID-19 outbreak

“…Finally, similar to the results by Röhr et al [24], our results did not support the common ageist stereotypes of 'the weak and vulnerable elderly' during the pandemic. These results have confirmed that older adults have social and psychological resources that allow them to face adversity.…”

“…Furthermore, most studies monitoring mental health indicators during the pandemic have been conducted with the younger population and have used online surveys [19][20][21]. Although some research has included older populations, the majority have been cross-sectional or longitudinal studies that began during the pandemic [7,[22][23][24].…”

Older Users of a Befriending Service in Ireland and the Maintenance of Personal Autonomy during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In relation to compliance, a minority of participants indicated that their lives had not changed at all because of the pandemic—most reported that they had adjusted to the pandemic and the cocooning guidelines. This finding is compatible with previous reports that older adults are relatively protected from the negative mental health effects of the pandemic [ 15 , 16 ], a finding which may be explainable with recourse to models such as the “strength and vulnerability integration” (SAVI) approach [ 23 ], or the selective optimization with compensation model of preserved wellbeing in later life [ 24 ]. According to these approaches, older adults strategise to maximise positive affect in later life, and minimize the experience of negative affect.…”

“…It is possible that older adults had a lower threshold of social interaction prior to the pandemic, meaning that the restrictions brought about less disruption in this group than in the younger generation, whose social interactions were more severely curtailed. Similar patterns of preserved wellbeing for older people were found for the outcomes of psychological distress, negative affect, depression, and anxiety, in German and U.S. populations [ 15 , 16 ].…”

Neuropsychiatrische Folgen der COVID-19-Pandemie

“…Umfassendere wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse zu den psychosozialen Folgen von Isolationsmaßnahmen für ältere Menschen in Altenund Seniorenheimen liegen bisher jedoch noch nicht hinreichend vor [4]. Eine aktuelle Studie zeigte zumindest im kurzfristigen Verlauf bei älteren Personen keine Verschlechterung des psychischen Befundes [14]. Hier ist auch zu berücksichtigen, dass für jüngere Familien prinzipiell ein größeres Netzwerk im Fokus steht, für das sie während der Krise, u.a.…”