Changes in Physical and Psychological States with Respect to the Gender of Outpatients Receiving Rehabilitation at Geriatric Health Services Facilities during the COVID-19 State of Emergency.

Kazuhiro P Izawa,Keisuke Okamoto,Masataka Oyama

doi:10.3390/diseases9030051

Abstract

This study was a sub-analysis of 20 consecutive elderly participants who underwent outpatient rehabilitation at a geriatric health services facility from January 2020 to the end of May 2020, based on our previous report. This study aimed to evaluate the longitudinal changes in their physical and psychological states with respect to gender in rehabilitation outpatients between the pre-nationwide (T1) and post-nationwide state of emergency (T2) caused by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Gait speed (GS), timed up and go (TUG), handgrip strength (HG), and maximum phonation time (MPT) were measured as indices of physical status. The Japanese version of the Apathy Scale and five-level EuroQoL five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) were used to assess the psychological state. Both states were measured in the male and female groups at T1 and T2 and then were compared. The final analysis was comprised of 13 outpatients. In males, the physical (GS, p = 0.463; TUG, p = 0.600; HG, p = 0.753; and MPT, p = 0.249) and psychological (Apathy Scale, p = 0.891 and EQ-5D-5L, p = 0.249) states did not change significantly between T1 and T2. In the females, the physical (GS, p = 0.600; TUG, p = 0.735; HG, p = 1.000; and MPT, p = 0.310) and psychological (Apathy Scale, p = 0.588 and EQ-5D-5L, p = 0.176) states also did not show significant change between T1 and T2. In both sexes, the continuance of outpatient rehabilitation might be recommended as one activity that can maintain physical and psychological states during a COVID-19-related state of emergency.

Highlights

The World Health Organization declared Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic on March 11, 2020 [1]
It is well known that gender-related differences in physical and psychological states exist [8,9,10]
Several gender-related reports have been published. It is still not clear whether the physical and psychological states of outpatients undergoing rehabilitation at a geriatric health services facility differed by gender from before to after the nationwide state of emergency

Summary

Introduction

The World Health Organization declared Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic on March 11, 2020 [1]. In Japan, the government declared an unprecedented first state of emergency on April 7, 2020, and terminated it on May 25, 2020 [2] These policies helped to inhibit the outbreak of infection [3], but health problems can be a concern when restrictions are imposed on activity [3,4]. It is still not clear whether the physical and psychological states of outpatients undergoing rehabilitation at a geriatric health services facility differed by gender from before to after the nationwide state of emergency. We thought that the physical and psychological states of both males and females undergoing outpatient rehabilitation in geriatric health services facilities would not decrease from before to after the nationwide state of emergency

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion