The impact of shielding during the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health: evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

ABSTRACT:

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, older and clinically vulnerable people were instructed to shield or stay at home. Policies restricting social contact and human interaction pose a risk to mental health, but we know very little about the impact of shielding and stay-at-home orders on the mental health of older people.

Aims

To understand the extent to which shielding contributes to poorer mental health.

Method

We used longitudinal data from wave 9 (2018/2019) and two COVID-19 sub-studies (June/July 2020; November/December 2020) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, and constructed logistic and linear regression models to investigate associations between patterns of shielding during the pandemic and mental health, controlling for sociodemographic character

SUBMITTER: Di Gessa G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11920597 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature