Frailty, psychological well-being, and social isolation in older adults with cognitive impairment during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: data from the GeroCovid initiative
- PMID: 37679953
- DOI: 10.1111/psyg.13021
Frailty, psychological well-being, and social isolation in older adults with cognitive impairment during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: data from the GeroCovid initiative
Abstract
Background: The containment measures linked to the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the phyco-physical well-being of the population, especially older adults with neurocognitive disorders (NCDs). This study aims to evaluate whether the frailty of NCD patients was associated with different changes in multiple health domains, in particular in relation to loneliness and social isolation, pre- and post-lockdown.
Materials and methods: Patients were recruited from 10 Italian Centers for Cognitive Disorders and Dementia. Data were collected in the pre-pandemic period (T0), during the pandemic lockdown (T1), and 6-9 months post-lockdown (T2). The UCLA Loneliness Scale-3, Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Instrumental ADL (IADL), Mini-Mental State Examination, and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) were administered. Caregivers' burden was also tested. Patients were categorized as non-frail, pre-frail, and frail according to the Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illness, and Loss of Weight scale.
Results: The sample included 165 subjects (61.9% women, mean age 79.5 ± 4.9 years). In the whole sample, the ADL, IADL, and NPI scores significantly declined between T0 and T2. There were no significative variations in functional and cognitive domains between the frail groups. During lockdown we recorded higher Depression Anxiety Stress Scales and Perceived Stress Scale scores in frail people. In multivariable logistic regression, frailty was associated with an increase in social isolation, and a loss of IADL.
Conclusions: We observed a global deterioration in functional and neuro-psychiatric domains irrespective of the degree of frailty. Frailty was associated with the worsening of social isolation during lockdown. Frail patients and their caregivers seemed to experience more anxiety and stress disorders during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Keywords: NPI; SARS-CoV-2; UCLA; frailty; older adults; social isolation.
© 2023 The Authors. Psychogeriatrics published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.
Similar articles
-
Cognitive frailty and its association with depression, anxiety and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults in the transforming cognitive frailty into later-life self-sufficiency (AGELESS) study.Psychogeriatrics. 2023 Nov;23(6):1071-1082. doi: 10.1111/psyg.13031. Epub 2023 Sep 26. Psychogeriatrics. 2023. PMID: 37752079
-
Distancing Measures in COVID-19 Pandemic: Loneliness, More than Physical Isolation, Affects Health Status and Psycho-Cognitive Wellbeing in Elderly Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.COPD. 2021 Aug;18(4):443-448. doi: 10.1080/15412555.2021.1941834. Epub 2021 Jun 28. COPD. 2021. PMID: 34180766
-
Increase in Frailty in Nursing Home Survivors of Coronavirus Disease 2019: Comparison With Noninfected Residents.J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2021 May;22(5):943-947.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.02.019. Epub 2021 Feb 22. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2021. PMID: 33757725 Free PMC article.
-
The potential long-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on patients with non-communicable diseases in Europe: consequences for healthy ageing.Aging Clin Exp Res. 2020 Jul;32(7):1189-1194. doi: 10.1007/s40520-020-01601-4. Epub 2020 May 26. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2020. PMID: 32458356 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Considering Frailty in SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Development: How Geriatricians Can Assist.Clin Interv Aging. 2021 Apr 28;16:731-738. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S295522. eCollection 2021. Clin Interv Aging. 2021. PMID: 33953551 Free PMC article. Review.
References
REFERENCES
-
- Pancani L, Marinucci M, Riva AN. Forced social isolation and mental health: a study on 1006 Italians under COVID-19 lockdown. Front Psychol 2021; 12: 663799. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.663799.
-
- Cagnin A, Di LR, Marra C et al. Behavioral and psychological effects of coronavirus Disease-19 quarantine in patients with dementia. Art Ther 2020; 11: 1. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.578015.
-
- Mendoza-Ruvalcaba NM, Gutiérrez-Herrera R, López C et al. Impact of quarantine due to COVID-19 pandemic on health and lifestyle conditions in older adults from Centro American countries. PloS One 2022; 17: e0264087. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0264087.
-
- Orrù G, Ciacchin R, Gemignani A, Conversano C. Psychological intervention measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clin Neuropsychiatry 2020; 17: 76-79. Accessed November 2, 2022. https://arpi.unipi.it/retrieve/handle/11568/1039146/592302/Psychological....
-
- Müller I, Mancinetti M, Renner A et al. Frailty assessment for COVID-19 follow-up: a prospective cohort study. BMJ open Respir Res 2022; 9(1): e001227. https://doi.org/10.1136/BMJRESP-2022-001227.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous