Loneliness and mental health among the elderly in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract Background The unexpected changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic related to the fear of developing the disease, and the need for social distancing and isolation have had an effect on people’s mental health. These drastic changes can result in the development of anxiety, depressive symptoms...

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Autores principales:	Beata Dziedzic, Anna Idzik, Ewa Kobos, Zofia Sienkiewicz, Tomasz Kryczka, Wiesław Fidecki, Mariusz Wysokiński
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	BMC 2021
Materias:	Anxiety Depression Irritability Loneliness Older people 60 + COVID-19 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/de94d03f213b41c3a25c7bb3907a2118
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:de94d03f213b41c3a25c7bb3907a21182021-11-08T10:44:03ZLoneliness and mental health among the elderly in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic10.1186/s12889-021-12029-41471-2458https://doaj.org/article/de94d03f213b41c3a25c7bb3907a21182021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12029-4https://doaj.org/toc/1471-2458Abstract Background The unexpected changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic related to the fear of developing the disease, and the need for social distancing and isolation have had an effect on people’s mental health. These drastic changes can result in the development of anxiety, depressive symptoms and sense of loneliness. Elderly and chronically ill individuals are at a particularly high risk of developing COVID-19, suffering severe illness and dying as a result of it. Aim of the study The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of anxiety, depressive symptoms, irritability and loneliness in the elderly aged 60 years and older as a group exposed to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to analyze the relationships between loneliness and mental health of the respondents and sociodemographic variables and chronic diseases. Materials and methods The study was conducted in Poland among 221 individuals aged 60+. The study material was collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-M) and a revised University of California Los Angeles loneliness scale (R-UCLA). Women accounted for 47.51% and men for 52.49% of study participants; the mean age was 65.18 (SD = 4.06). Results In total, according to HADS-M, depressive symptoms were present in 19.15% of the participants and borderline states in 14.18% of them. Based on R-UCLA, moderate and moderately high sense of loneliness was present in 58.83% of the participants. Sense of loneliness was significantly correlated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms (p < 0.001). Conclusions In this study, one in five participants experienced anxiety and depressive symptoms. Two out of three participants experienced a moderate sense of loneliness. Individuals who displayed a higher level of loneliness also had a higher severity of anxiety level depressive symptoms and irritability. Elderly individuals should be under special care due to their high risk of experiencing physical and mental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.Beata DziedzicAnna IdzikEwa KobosZofia SienkiewiczTomasz KryczkaWiesław FideckiMariusz WysokińskiBMCarticleAnxietyDepressionIrritabilityLonelinessOlder people 60 + COVID-19Public aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENBMC Public Health, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Anxiety Depression Irritability Loneliness Older people 60 + COVID-19 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
spellingShingle	Anxiety Depression Irritability Loneliness Older people 60 + COVID-19 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Beata Dziedzic Anna Idzik Ewa Kobos Zofia Sienkiewicz Tomasz Kryczka Wiesław Fidecki Mariusz Wysokiński Loneliness and mental health among the elderly in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic
description	Abstract Background The unexpected changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic related to the fear of developing the disease, and the need for social distancing and isolation have had an effect on people’s mental health. These drastic changes can result in the development of anxiety, depressive symptoms and sense of loneliness. Elderly and chronically ill individuals are at a particularly high risk of developing COVID-19, suffering severe illness and dying as a result of it. Aim of the study The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of anxiety, depressive symptoms, irritability and loneliness in the elderly aged 60 years and older as a group exposed to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to analyze the relationships between loneliness and mental health of the respondents and sociodemographic variables and chronic diseases. Materials and methods The study was conducted in Poland among 221 individuals aged 60+. The study material was collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-M) and a revised University of California Los Angeles loneliness scale (R-UCLA). Women accounted for 47.51% and men for 52.49% of study participants; the mean age was 65.18 (SD = 4.06). Results In total, according to HADS-M, depressive symptoms were present in 19.15% of the participants and borderline states in 14.18% of them. Based on R-UCLA, moderate and moderately high sense of loneliness was present in 58.83% of the participants. Sense of loneliness was significantly correlated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms (p < 0.001). Conclusions In this study, one in five participants experienced anxiety and depressive symptoms. Two out of three participants experienced a moderate sense of loneliness. Individuals who displayed a higher level of loneliness also had a higher severity of anxiety level depressive symptoms and irritability. Elderly individuals should be under special care due to their high risk of experiencing physical and mental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
format	article
author	Beata Dziedzic Anna Idzik Ewa Kobos Zofia Sienkiewicz Tomasz Kryczka Wiesław Fidecki Mariusz Wysokiński
author_facet	Beata Dziedzic Anna Idzik Ewa Kobos Zofia Sienkiewicz Tomasz Kryczka Wiesław Fidecki Mariusz Wysokiński
author_sort	Beata Dziedzic
title	Loneliness and mental health among the elderly in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_short	Loneliness and mental health among the elderly in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full	Loneliness and mental health among the elderly in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr	Loneliness and mental health among the elderly in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed	Loneliness and mental health among the elderly in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort	loneliness and mental health among the elderly in poland during the covid-19 pandemic
publisher	BMC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/de94d03f213b41c3a25c7bb3907a2118
work_keys_str_mv	AT beatadziedzic lonelinessandmentalhealthamongtheelderlyinpolandduringthecovid19pandemic AT annaidzik lonelinessandmentalhealthamongtheelderlyinpolandduringthecovid19pandemic AT ewakobos lonelinessandmentalhealthamongtheelderlyinpolandduringthecovid19pandemic AT zofiasienkiewicz lonelinessandmentalhealthamongtheelderlyinpolandduringthecovid19pandemic AT tomaszkryczka lonelinessandmentalhealthamongtheelderlyinpolandduringthecovid19pandemic AT wiesławfidecki lonelinessandmentalhealthamongtheelderlyinpolandduringthecovid19pandemic AT mariuszwysokinski lonelinessandmentalhealthamongtheelderlyinpolandduringthecovid19pandemic
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Loneliness and mental health among the elderly in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic

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