Liu Yujun, Wang Heng, Hughes M Courtney
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, USA.
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2023 Aug 8;9:23337214231192820. doi: 10.1177/23337214231192820. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.
COVID-19 deeply affected the health and well-being of older adults. This study examines health behavior change and the interrelationships between health behaviors, financial difficulties, and depressive symptoms among older adults across gender and race during the pandemic. Using Rounds 1, 5, and 10 of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) linked with the NHATS COVID-19 dataset, our sample included Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 or older in the U.S. ( = 3,118). We modeled the interrelationships between health behaviors, financial difficulties, and depressive symptoms using a structural equation model. Female participants reported less walking, more changes in eating habits, less sleeping, and less alcohol consumption during the pandemic than before the pandemic compared to male participants. Compared to White, Non-White participants showed higher proportions of experiencing financial difficulties, less walking, less vigorous activity, and changes in time spent eating and sleeping during than before the pandemic. Financial difficulties was positively associated with depressive symptoms and sedentary behavior. Active behavior was negatively associated with depressive symptoms, while sedentary behavior was positively associated with more depressive symptoms. Health professionals should consider health behaviors and financial difficulties when intervening on depressive symptoms experienced by older adults since the pandemic.
新冠疫情对老年人的健康和福祉产生了深远影响。本研究调查了疫情期间不同性别和种族的老年人健康行为的变化，以及健康行为、经济困难和抑郁症状之间的相互关系。利用与美国国家健康与老龄化趋势研究（NHATS）新冠数据集相关联的第1轮、第5轮和第10轮数据，我们的样本包括美国65岁及以上的医疗保险受益人（n = 3118）。我们使用结构方程模型对健康行为、经济困难和抑郁症状之间的相互关系进行建模。与男性参与者相比，女性参与者在疫情期间的步行量减少、饮食习惯变化更多、睡眠时间减少、饮酒量减少。与白人相比，非白人参与者在疫情期间经历经济困难的比例更高，步行量减少、剧烈活动减少，饮食和睡眠时间也发生了变化。经济困难与抑郁症状和久坐行为呈正相关。积极行为与抑郁症状呈负相关，而久坐行为与更多抑郁症状呈正相关。自疫情以来，健康专业人员在干预老年人经历的抑郁症状时应考虑健康行为和经济困难。
