Loneliness, physical activity and mental health during Covid-19: a longitudinal analysis of depression and anxiety in adults over 50 between 2015 and 2020
Creese, B; Khan, Z; Henley, W; et al.O'Dwyer, S; Corbett, A; Vasconcelos Da Silva, M; Mills, K; Wright, N; Testad, I; Aarsland, D; Ballard, C
Date: 17 December 2020
Journal
International Psychogeriatrics
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP) / International Psychogeriatric Association
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Objective: Loneliness and physical activity are important targets for research into the impact
of COVID-19 because they have established links with mental health, could be exacerbated
by social distancing policies and are potentially modifiable. In this study we aimed to identify
whether loneliness and physical activity were associated ...
Objective: Loneliness and physical activity are important targets for research into the impact
of COVID-19 because they have established links with mental health, could be exacerbated
by social distancing policies and are potentially modifiable. In this study we aimed to identify
whether loneliness and physical activity were associated with worse mental health during a
period of mandatory social distancing in the UK.
Design: Population-based observation cohort study.
Setting: Mental health data collected online during COVID-19 from an existing sample of
adults aged 50 and over taking part in a longitudinal study of ageing. All had comparable
annual data collected between 2015 and 2019.
Participants: 3,281 participants aged 50 and over.
Measurements: Trajectories of depression (measured by PHQ-9) and anxiety (measured by
GAD-7) between 2015 and 2020 were analyzed with respect to loneliness, physical activity
levels and a number of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics using zero-inflated
negative binomial regression.
Results: In 2020, PHQ-9 score for loneliness, adjusted for covariates, was 3.23 (95% CI:
3.01-3.44), an increase of around one point on all previous years in this group and 2 points
higher than people not rated lonely, whose score did not change in 2020 (1.22, 95% CI: 1.12-
1.32). PHQ-9 was 2.60, 95% CI: 2.43-2.78 in people with decreased physical activity, an
increase of 0.5 on previous years. In contrast, PHQ-9 in 2020 for people whose physical
activity had not decreased was 1.66, 95% CI: 1.56-1.75, similar to previous years. A similar
relationship was observed for GAD-7 though the absolute burden of symptoms lower.
Conclusion: After accounting for pre-COVID-19 trends, we show that experiencing loneliness
and decreased physical activity are risk factors for worsening mental health during the
pandemic. Our findings highlight the need to examine policies which target these potentially
modifiable risk factors.
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