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. 2022 Dec 6;12(12):2016.
doi: 10.3390/jpm12122016.

Post-COVID-19 Psychiatric Symptoms in the Elderly: The Role of Gender and Resilience

Delfina Janiri  1   2   3 , Matteo Tosato  4 , Alessio Simonetti  1   3 , Silvia Montanari  1 , Beatrice Terenzi  1 , Antonello Catinari  1 , Lorenzo De Mori  1 , Gaspare Filippo Ferrajoli  1 , Georgios D Kotzalidis  5 , Francesco Landi  4 , Roberto Bernabei  4 , Gabriele Sani  1   3
Affiliations

Post-COVID-19 Psychiatric Symptoms in the Elderly: The Role of Gender and Resilience

Delfina Janiri et al. J Pers Med. .

Abstract

COVID-19 represents an overwhelming stressor to mental health. Elderly individuals are particularly at risk, but it is still unclear whether the risk is equally distributed among men and women. The aim of this study was to define gender differences in persistent psychiatric symptoms after COVID-19 illness and to test their association with resilience factors. Methods: We assessed 348 individuals aged >65 years at a multidisciplinary post-COVID-19 service. Mood and anxiety symptoms were investigated, as well as psychological distress and resilience, as assessed with the Kessler-10 (K10) Scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), respectively. Multivariate and linear regression analyses were used to test the distribution patterns of psychiatric symptoms and resilience factors. Results: In the total sample, 214 (61.5%) were men (a mean age of 73.25 years ±6.04) and 134 (38.5%) were women (a mean age of 72.69 years ±6.43; p = 0.407). Men and women significantly differed in marital status (χ2 = 25.17; p < 0.001, more men were married), living alone (χ2 = 11.62; p < 0.01, fewer men were living alone), hospitalization during COVID-19 illness (χ2 = 12.35; p < 0.001, more men were hospitalized during COVID-19), and subjective health status before COVID-19 infection (χ2 = 4.32; p < 0.001, men reporting better subjective health than women). Women reported more psychiatric symptoms and fewer resilience factors than men. Low resilience levels significantly predicted psychological distress in both men and women. Conclusions: The female elderly population affected by COVID-19 showed a greater vulnerability to psychiatric symptoms. Our data point to the need to strengthen resilience resources, especially in women.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; depression; gender; psychiatric symptoms; resilience; women.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no potential conflict of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relationship between resilience factors and risk of psychopathology. Abbreviations: K-10, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale; CD-RISC, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale; M, men; F, women.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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