Severity and symptoms of depression in older adults presenting to mental health services during COVID‐19 lockdown – an experience from south London region

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundSocial restrictive measures during COVID‐19 pandemic has influenced people’s mental health conditions across different countries. Global studies indicated an increased prevalence of anxiety disorder and depression with varied impacts among different age groups. Most studies in the elderly have been done via surveys or internet medias missing out on people with no access to digital technology tools. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of depression among elderly people aged 65 years and above who attended mental health service for older adults (MHOA).MethodsRetrospective data was collected from the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Case Register for MHOA. Using this large mental health care database in South London, United Kingdom, we identified referrals to MHOA during the first UK lockdown (March ‐ July 2020) and compared those to a corresponding pre‐COVID period (February ‐ July 2019). Logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, diagnosis and living conditions were done to examine association between COVID‐19 lockdown and severity and symptoms of depression.Results536 patients were referred and seen within the MHOA during the first UK COVID‐19 lockdown period compared to 1,455 patients during the pre‐COVID‐19 corresponding period. We found presence of COVID‐19 lockdown had no effect on overall severity of depression but significantly associated with depressive symptoms such as anhedonia (1.64, 95% CI 1.14‐2.37, p = 0.008), lack of energy (1.65. 95% CI 1.65 (1.25‐2.16), p<0.001), tearfulness (1.43, CI% 1.15‐1.78, p = 0.001), agitation (1.32, CI% 1.07‐1.63, p = 0.009), disturbed sleep (1.37, CI% 1.11‐1.70, p = 0.003) and guilt feelings (1.45, CI% 1.04‐2.03, p = 0.030)ConclusionsThere was an increased prevalence of certain depressive symptoms among older adults within MHOA during first COVID‐19 lockdown which implies impact of isolation and possibly physical ill‐health on mental well‐being. This needs to be explored further for potential prevention and managements.