Elderly suffer low psychological impact in the pandemic, says study

During the Covid pandemic, elderly people had a low incidence of depressive and anxious symptoms, according to a study published in the scientific journal Research, Society and Development.

According to the study, carried out by researchers from PUC-PR (Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná), only 36% of participants had symptoms of depression or anxiety during the first half of last year.

In all, 50 volunteers participated in the research —35 women and 15 men, with an average age of 72.7 years—, who attended the university’s geriatric outpatient clinic on the Londrina campus and the city’s municipal polyclinic.

They were asked about the degree of fear of the disease, fear of losing their lives as a result of the virus and level of anxiety when seeing news about Covid.

Seamstress Angela Sciscioli Cabral, 79, participated in the study. She, who lives in Londrina with her husband, says that during the pandemic she was completely isolated from her family, which includes five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Even without getting Covid, she says the couple got sadder. “We feel alone, anxious, depressed, because it’s not easy to stay like this for almost two years.”

To soften up, the couple turned to TV, watching masses, rosaries and news about the pandemic, and to the phone, to follow, for example, the birthday of one of the great-grandchildren. “It eased the nostalgia”, says the grandmother.

In moments of great sadness, such as the loss of a cousin to illness, they would look for the backyard, with flowers and plants. “We stayed there, enjoying it.”

With the backyard in bloom, Angela didn’t even think about therapy. Neither she nor 48 other research participants. Of all 50 elderly people, only one sought psychological assistance. Of the total, 13 (26%) increased their use of technology; 33 (66%) reduced contact with friends and family and 27 (54%) reported moments of sadness.

Lindsey Nakakogue, a geriatrician and professor at PUC-PR in Londrina, says that the low incidence of depressive and anxious symptoms in the elderly is related to a better ability to regulate emotions, that is, to deal with their own emotions.

The current elderly, adds the research coordinator​, were subjected to post-war situations, deconstruction of their countries and exhausting work. “They went through hunger, needs and other mishaps, so being isolated at home was something of less impact for them.”

The doctor says that the explanation may lie in the resilience typical of age. “They calmly saw the momentary situation of the pandemic, as something fleeting and necessary.”

Another relevant data in the research is that there was low adherence to the technology. “We realized that [o menor impacto na saúde mental dos idosos] it was not for psychological support or increased use of technology, which shows that we need to digitally include the elderly”, says the geriatrician.

According to the study, the justification for the lack of psychological support and lack of access to the digital world may be family income, which for 60% of participants does not exceed the minimum wage, and low education.

physical symptoms

The physical symptoms of the elderly in the post-Covid period were also evaluated in another study, carried out with patients from the SUS outpatient clinic of the Hospital Universitário Cajuru, in Curitiba, between March 2021 and February 2022.

The analysis points out the most frequent symptoms, which are: shortness of breath, weight loss, fatigue, pain in the lower limbs, cough and insomnia.

The more complications during the infection, the more symptoms after the illness. Even one month after hospital discharge, the analyzed elderly had lower oxygen saturation at rest.

“After the disease was cured, these people had symptoms that went far beyond respiratory sequelae. The neurological damage, for example, is recurrent and translates into cases of depression and memory loss”, says Cristina Baena, coordinator of the post-operative outpatient clinic. Covid from Cajuru.