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Depression and loneliness of older adults in Europe and Israel after the first wave of covid-19

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  • Josefine Atzendorf

    (Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA))

  • Stefan Gruber

    (Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA))

Abstract

Epidemic control measures that aim to introduce social distancing help to decelerate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, their consequences in terms of mental well-being might be negative, especially for older adults. While existing studies mainly focus on the time during the first lockdown, we look at the weeks afterward in order to measure the medium-term consequences of the first wave of the pandemic. Using data from the SHARE Corona Survey, we include retired respondents aged 60 and above from 25 European countries plus Israel. Combining SHARE data with macro-data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker allows us to include macro-indicators at the country level, namely the number of deaths per 100,000 and the number of days with stringent epidemic control measures, in addition to individual characteristics. The findings show that both macro-indicators are influential for increased feelings of sadness/depression, but that individual factors are crucial for explaining increased feelings of loneliness in the time after the first lockdown. Models with interaction terms reveal that the included macro-indicators have negative well-being consequences, particularly for the oldest survey participants. Additionally, the results reveal that especially those living alone had a higher risk for increased loneliness in the time after the first COVID-19 wave.

Suggested Citation

  • Josefine Atzendorf & Stefan Gruber, 2022. "Depression and loneliness of older adults in Europe and Israel after the first wave of covid-19," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 849-861, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujoag:v:19:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10433-021-00640-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10433-021-00640-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gerst-Emerson, K. & Jayawardhana, J., 2015. "Loneliness as a public health issue: The impact of loneliness on health care utilization among older adults," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 105(5), pages 1013-1019.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Kunyu & Burr, Jeffrey A. & Mutchler, Jan E. & Lu, Jiehua, 2023. "Online engagement, resilience, and loneliness among older people during the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    2. Thorsten Kneip & Axel Börsch-Supan & Karen Andersen-Ranberg, 2022. "Social, health and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from a European perspective," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 789-792, December.
    3. Boni, Zofia & Bertel, Diotima & Adler, Viktoria, 2024. "To stay or not to stay at home? The unintended consequences of public health advice for older adults in the context of Covid-19 and urban heat," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).

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