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

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dc.citation.issue1
dc.citation.volume20
dc.contributor.authorRöhr S
dc.contributor.authorReininghaus U
dc.contributor.authorRiedel-Heller SG
dc.coverage.spatialEngland
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-07T22:18:24Z
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-25T06:47:44Z
dc.date.available2020-11-23
dc.date.available2024-01-07T22:18:24Z
dc.date.available2024-07-25T06:47:44Z
dc.date.issued2020-11-23
dc.description.abstractBackground 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.
dc.format.pagination489-
dc.identifier.author-urlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33225912
dc.identifier.citationRöhr S, Reininghaus U, Riedel-Heller SG. (2020). Mental wellbeing in the German old age population largely unaltered during COVID-19 lockdown: results of a representative survey.. BMC Geriatr. 20. 1. (pp. 489-).
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/s12877-020-01889-x
dc.identifier.eissn1471-2318
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn1471-2318
dc.identifier.pii10.1186/s12877-020-01889-x
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/70891
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltd
dc.relation.isPartOfBMC Geriatr
dc.rights(c) 2020 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectCOVID-19 lockdown
dc.subjectCOVID-19 pandemic
dc.subjectEpidemiology
dc.subjectMental health
dc.subjectMental wellbeing
dc.subjectOld age
dc.subjectSurvey
dc.subjectAged
dc.subjectAged, 80 and over
dc.subjectCOVID-19
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectGermany
dc.subjectHumans
dc.subjectMale
dc.subjectMental Health
dc.subjectPandemics
dc.subjectPhysical Distancing
dc.subjectSurveys and Questionnaires
dc.titleMental wellbeing in the German old age population largely unaltered during COVID-19 lockdown: results of a representative survey
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id455065
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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