A Study of Older Adults' Mental Health across 33 Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Despite older adults' extremely high vulnerability to COVID-19 complications and death, few studies have examined how personal characteristics and the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the mental health of older adults at the global level. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among demographics, COVID-19 life impacts, and depression and anxiety in adults aged 60 and older from 33 countries. A sample of 823 older adults aged 60-94 and residing in 33 countries completed a 10-min online survey following recruitment from mailing lists and social media. Being separated from and having conflicts with loved ones predicted both anxiety and depression, as did residing in a country with higher income. Getting medical treatment for severe symptoms of COVID-19 and having decreased work responsibilities predicted depression, but adjustment to working from home and younger age predicted both depression and anxiety. Participants from Europe and Central Asia reported higher depression than those from all other regions and higher anxiety than those from Latin America and the Caribbean. The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious deleterious effects on the mental health of older adults worldwide. The current findings have direct implications for mental health services that may be delivered to older adults to help facilitate healthy psychological adjustment.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; coronavirus; depression; international; mental health; older adults; pandemic.

Figure 1

Flowchart of participant inclusion/exclusion process.

Figure 2

Covariate-Adjusted Depression Scores (Mean with 95% Confidence Intervals) by Global Region. Note: Means were adjusted for the following covariates: gender, age, country income classification, marital status, work status, and having dependents in the home. Regions sharing the same superscript were significantly different at p < 0.05 after Bonferroni corrections.

Figure 3

Covariate-adjusted anxiety scores (mean with 95% confidence intervals) by global region. Note: Means were adjusted for the following covariates: gender, age, country income classification, marital status, work status, and having dependents in the home. Regions sharing the same superscript were significantly different at p < 0.05 after Bonferroni corrections.