Page 187 - Petelin, Ana. 2021. Ed. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
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h SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can affect mental health. the influence of the covid-19 epidemic on the incidence of depression in the elderly in a reference dispensary 185
The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, analyzed the electronic medical
records of 69.8 million patients in the U.S., which included 62,354 patients di-
agnosed with COVID-19. Within three months of positive testing, nearly 20 %
of people diagnosed with COVID-19 were then diagnosed with psychiatric dis-
orders, including anxiety, depression, or insomnia. One in four of these people
has not yet received a psychiatric diagnosis (GAVI, 2020). A study conducted in
the Netherlands shows that individuals with chronic mental health disorders
reported a greater impact of the epidemic on their mental health, had more fear
of COVID-19, and coping with a pandemic on their own was not effective in
these people (Pan, et al., 2020). There are major concerns about the impact of
the global COVID-19 outbreak on mental health. Numerous studies show that
mental health deteriorated in many countries before and during forced isola-
tion, but it remains unknown how mental health changed from week to week
during the COVID-19 epidemic (Fancourt, et al., 2020). Exposure to informa-
tion leveled at people by social networks and the media, however, has been
linked by experts to depression (Ni, et al., 2020).
The impact of the epidemic on mental health
Loneliness reflects subjective distress resulting from a mismatch between de-
sired and perceived social relationships (Jeste, et al., 2020). Unfortunately, lone-
liness in an individual causes distress such as depression, anxiety, physical
morbidity, and mortality. Although the evidence suggests that the social dis-
tance and measures envisaged to contain COVID-19 are effective, there is also
a downside. Measures have a negative effect on people in terms of psycholog-
ical, social and physical health. Among the vulnerable are mainly older peo-
ple - older adults with multimorbidity. Elderly patients who have more chron-
ic conditions have been found to be more lonely, anxious, and also experience
insomnia. Also, their management of chronic diseases by a doctor or nurse
is impaired due to the epidemic (Yeung Shan Wong, et al., 2020). Social dis-
tance is an important public health strategy to control the spread of the virus
and reduce the impact on the elderly adult population. However, this comes at
a price. Loneliness is associated with countless detrimental health outcomes.
Older people are therefore at greater risk for effectively managing loneliness
and social isolation. In an effort to limit social distancing, closures have varied
across countries (Van Orden, et al., 2020). The presence of multimorbid condi-
tions makes the elderly more susceptible to new infections and related psycho-
logical distress (Andreas, et al., 2017). Older people are prone to social isolation,
even under normal circumstances, and this problem is exacerbated in the cur-
rent situation. Most of them only have a close circle of friends and family with
whom they communicate regularly. As most countries enforce strict blockades
to control the spread of the epidemic, this issue has become even more impor-
tant for older people. If such individuals are unable to provide a regular and
The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, analyzed the electronic medical
records of 69.8 million patients in the U.S., which included 62,354 patients di-
agnosed with COVID-19. Within three months of positive testing, nearly 20 %
of people diagnosed with COVID-19 were then diagnosed with psychiatric dis-
orders, including anxiety, depression, or insomnia. One in four of these people
has not yet received a psychiatric diagnosis (GAVI, 2020). A study conducted in
the Netherlands shows that individuals with chronic mental health disorders
reported a greater impact of the epidemic on their mental health, had more fear
of COVID-19, and coping with a pandemic on their own was not effective in
these people (Pan, et al., 2020). There are major concerns about the impact of
the global COVID-19 outbreak on mental health. Numerous studies show that
mental health deteriorated in many countries before and during forced isola-
tion, but it remains unknown how mental health changed from week to week
during the COVID-19 epidemic (Fancourt, et al., 2020). Exposure to informa-
tion leveled at people by social networks and the media, however, has been
linked by experts to depression (Ni, et al., 2020).
The impact of the epidemic on mental health
Loneliness reflects subjective distress resulting from a mismatch between de-
sired and perceived social relationships (Jeste, et al., 2020). Unfortunately, lone-
liness in an individual causes distress such as depression, anxiety, physical
morbidity, and mortality. Although the evidence suggests that the social dis-
tance and measures envisaged to contain COVID-19 are effective, there is also
a downside. Measures have a negative effect on people in terms of psycholog-
ical, social and physical health. Among the vulnerable are mainly older peo-
ple - older adults with multimorbidity. Elderly patients who have more chron-
ic conditions have been found to be more lonely, anxious, and also experience
insomnia. Also, their management of chronic diseases by a doctor or nurse
is impaired due to the epidemic (Yeung Shan Wong, et al., 2020). Social dis-
tance is an important public health strategy to control the spread of the virus
and reduce the impact on the elderly adult population. However, this comes at
a price. Loneliness is associated with countless detrimental health outcomes.
Older people are therefore at greater risk for effectively managing loneliness
and social isolation. In an effort to limit social distancing, closures have varied
across countries (Van Orden, et al., 2020). The presence of multimorbid condi-
tions makes the elderly more susceptible to new infections and related psycho-
logical distress (Andreas, et al., 2017). Older people are prone to social isolation,
even under normal circumstances, and this problem is exacerbated in the cur-
rent situation. Most of them only have a close circle of friends and family with
whom they communicate regularly. As most countries enforce strict blockades
to control the spread of the epidemic, this issue has become even more impor-
tant for older people. If such individuals are unable to provide a regular and
