Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020;24(9):938-947.
doi: 10.1007/s12603-020-1469-2.

Impact of Social Isolation Due to COVID-19 on Health in Older People: Mental and Physical Effects and Recommendations

W Sepúlveda-Loyola  1 , I Rodríguez-Sánchez, P Pérez-Rodríguez, F Ganz, R Torralba, D V Oliveira, L Rodríguez-Mañas
Affiliations
Review

Impact of Social Isolation Due to COVID-19 on Health in Older People: Mental and Physical Effects and Recommendations

W Sepúlveda-Loyola et al. J Nutr Health Aging. 2020.

Abstract

Objectives: To review the impact of social isolation during COVID-19 pandemic on mental and physical health of older people and the recommendations for patients, caregivers and health professionals.

Design: Narrative review.

Setting: Non-institutionalized community-living people.

Participants: 20.069 individuals from ten descriptive cross-sectional papers.

Measurements: Articles since 2019 to 2020 published on Pubmed, Scielo and Google Scholar databases with the following MeSh terms ('COVID-19', 'coronavirus', 'aging', 'older people', 'elderly', 'social isolation' and 'quarantine') in English, Spanish or Portuguese were included. The studies not including people over 60 were excluded. Guidelines, recommendations, and update documents from different international organizations related to mental and physical activity were also analysed.

Results: 41 documents have been included in this narrative review, involving a total of 20.069 individuals (58% women), from Asia, Europe and America. 31 articles included recommendations and 10 addressed the impact of social distancing on mental or physical health. The main outcomes reported were anxiety, depression, poor sleep quality and physical inactivity during the isolation period. Cognitive strategies and increasing physical activity levels using apps, online videos, telehealth, are the main international recommendations.

Conclusion: Mental and physical health in older people are negatively affected during the social distancing for COVID-19. Therefore, a multicomponent program with exercise and psychological strategies are highly recommended for this population during the confinement. Future investigations are necessary in this field.

Keywords: COVID-19; Social isolation; aging; mental health; physical function.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Selection process of studies
Figure 2
Figure 2
Activities to improve the mental and physical health at home
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jones DS. History in a Crisis — Lessons for Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020:1–2. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2004361. - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. COVID-19 Strategy Up Date. World Heal Organ. 2020;(April), https://www.who.int/publications-detail/covid-19-strategy-update---14-ap....
    1. WHO. Statements, press and ministerial briefings. 2020. http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-....
    1. Zazhi ZLX. The epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in China. Epidemiol Work Gr NCIP Epidemic Response, Chinese Cent Dis Control Prev. 2020;41(2):145–151.
    1. Bialek S, Boundy E, Bowen V, et al. Severe Outcomes Among Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) — United States, February 12–March 16, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(12):343–346. 10.15585/mmwr.mm6912e2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms