Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Department of Psychiatry, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Psychol Med. 2023 May;53(7):2992-2999. doi: 10.1017/S0033291721005018. Epub 2021 Dec 17.
There are growing concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of older adults. We examined the effect of the pandemic on the risk of depression in older adults.
We analyzed data from the prospective cohort study of Korean older adults, which has been followed every 2 years. Among the 2308 participants who completed both the third and the fourth follow-up assessments, 58.4% completed their fourth follow-up before the outbreak of COVID-19 and the rest completed it during the pandemic. We conducted face-to-face diagnostic interviews using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and used Geriatric Depression Scale. We performed generalized estimating equations and logistic regression analyses.
The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased depressive symptoms in older adults [ (standard error) = 0.42 (0.20), = 0.040] and a doubling of the risk for incident depressive disorder even in euthymic older adults without a history of depression (odds ratio = 2.44, 95% confidence interval 1.18-5.02, = 0.016). Less social activities, which was associated with the risk of depressive disorder before the pandemic, was not associated with the risk of depressive disorder during the pandemic. However, less family gatherings, which was not associated with the risk of depressive disorder before the pandemic, was associated with the doubled risk of depressive disorder during the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly influences the risk of late-life depression in the community. Older adults with a lack of family gatherings may be particularly vulnerable.
人们越来越关注 COVID-19 大流行对老年人心理健康的影响。我们研究了大流行对老年人患抑郁症风险的影响。
我们分析了一项针对韩国老年人的前瞻性队列研究的数据，该研究每两年进行一次随访。在完成了第三次和第四次随访评估的 2308 名参与者中，58.4%的人在 COVID-19 爆发前完成了第四次随访，其余的人在大流行期间完成了第四次随访。我们使用 Mini 国际神经精神访谈和老年抑郁量表进行了面对面的诊断访谈。我们使用广义估计方程和逻辑回归分析进行了分析。
COVID-19 大流行与老年人抑郁症状增加有关[（标准误差）= 0.42（0.20），= 0.040]，即使在没有抑郁病史的心境正常的老年人中，新发抑郁障碍的风险也增加了一倍（比值比= 2.44，95%置信区间 1.18-5.02，= 0.016）。在大流行之前与抑郁障碍风险相关的社交活动减少，与大流行期间的抑郁障碍风险无关。然而，在大流行之前与抑郁障碍风险无关的家庭聚会减少，与大流行期间抑郁障碍风险增加一倍有关。
COVID-19 大流行显著影响了社区中老年人患晚发性抑郁症的风险。缺乏家庭聚会的老年人可能特别脆弱。
