The Assessment of Fear of COVID-19 among the Elderly Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Grzegorz Mazur,Mateusz Dróżdż,Siddarth Agrawal,Alicja Pietraszek,Małgorzata Sobieszczańska,Sebastian Makuch

doi:10.3390/jcm10235537

Grzegorz Mazur, Mateusz Dróżdż + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10235537

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Abstract

The prevailing COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the mental health and well-being of individuals. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the perceived fear of COVID-19 among older adults in Poland and identify subpopulations with the highest risk of potential mental health disorders. The study was conducted in November–December 2020 on 500 people aged ≥60 years (mean M = 67.9, standard deviation SD = 4.2). In order to collect information on participants’ characteristics and COVID-19-related information, they were asked to complete a questionnaire based on recorded telephone calls. Perceived fear of COVID-19 was measured using Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), which ranges from 7 to 35. Multiple linear regression was performed to identify factors associated with the perceived fear of COVID-19. Our results showed that the highest level of fear of COVID-19 infection was observed among women (p = 0.025) and patients taking anticoagulants (p = 0.004). Moreover, older adults with higher anxiety levels were more likely to be fearful of COVID-19 (according to the GAS-10 scale; p < 0.001). These findings may help policy makers and healthcare workers to adapt and implement better mental health strategies to help the elderly fight fear and anxiety during the prevailing pandemic.

Highlights

It has been almost 2 years since we first grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
The findings from our study showed a significant role of COVID-19 infection in perceiving fears among the older population in Poland, with a mean fear score of 19.3 ± 5.6 on a seven-item fear scale (Table 4)
Instead of highlighting the consequences of the fear during the COVID-19 pandemic, we found subpopulations that are at the highest risk to exhibit health anxiety during the current pandemic

Summary

Introduction

It has been almost 2 years since we first grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Approximately 242 million people have been infected worldwide, while around. 5 million of them died due to COVID-19 infection [1]. The elderly, immunocompromised, and/or those with pre-existing chronic diseases are at the highest risk to develop severe respiratory problems, leading to multi-organ failure, pneumonia, and death. The observed high morbidity and mortality of SARS-CoV-2 have triggered the fear of COVID-19 infection. In a survey of 44,000 participants conducted in Belgium in April 2020, the number of people who reported anxiety (20%) or depression (16%) had increased substantially compared to the survey conducted in 2018 [2]

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