Dataset Information

Frailty among Older People during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in The Netherlands.

ABSTRACT: Restrictive measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic may cause problems in the physical, social, and psychological functioning of older people, resulting in increased frailty. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to assess the prevalence and characteristics of frailty, to examine differences in perceived COVID-19-related concerns and threats between frail and non-frail people and to identify variables associated with frailty in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in Dutch older people aged ≥ 65 years. We used data from the Lifelines COVID-19 Cohort Study. The Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI) was used, with a score ≥ 4 indicating frailty. Frailty was described per domain (i.e., physical, cognitive, social, and psychological). The association between demographic, health and lifestyle variables and frailty was determined with logistic regression analyses. Frailty was present in 13% of the 11,145 participants that completed the GFI. Most items contributing to a positive frailty score were found within the social domain, in the frail (51%) and the non-frail (59%) persons. For items related to concerns and threats, a significantly higher proportion of frail people reported being worried or feeling threatened. In conclusion, during Corona restrictions, prevalence of frailty was considerable in older people from the Northern Netherlands, with one in eight being frail. Frailty was characterized by social problems and frail people were more often worried and felt threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

SUBMITTER: Sealy MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8950938 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Frailty among Older People during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in The Netherlands.

Sealy Martine J MJ van der Lucht Fons F van Munster Barbara C BC Krijnen Wim P WP Hobbelen Hans H Barf Hans A HA Finnema Evelyn J EJ Jager-Wittenaar Harriët H

International journal of environmental research and public health 20220319 6

Restrictive measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic may cause problems in the physical, social, and psychological functioning of older people, resulting in increased frailty. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to assess the prevalence and characteristics of frailty, to examine differences in perceived COVID-19-related concerns and threats between frail and non-frail people and to identify variables associated with frailty in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in Dutch older people aged ...[more]

PMID: 35329352

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Project description:BackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing measures were imposed to protect the population from exposure, especially older adults and people with frailty, who have the highest risk for severe outcomes. These restrictions greatly reduced contacts in the general population, but little was known about behaviour changes among older adults and people with frailty themselves. Our aim was to quantify how COVID-19 measures affected the contact behaviour of older adults and how this differed between older adults with and without frailty.MethodsIn 2021, a contact survey was carried out among people aged 70 years and older in the Netherlands. A random sample of persons per age group (70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85-89, and 90 +) and gender was invited to participate, either during a period with stringent (April 2021) or moderate (October 2021) measures. Participants provided general information on themselves, including their frailty, and they reported characteristics of all persons with whom they had face-to-face contact on a given day over the course of a full week.ResultsIn total, 720 community-dwelling older adults were included (overall response rate of 15%), who reported 16,505 contacts. During the survey period with moderate measures, participants without frailty had significantly more contacts outside their household than participants with frailty. Especially for females, frailty was a more informative predictor of the number of contacts than age. During the survey period with stringent measures, participants with and without frailty had significantly lower numbers of contacts compared to the survey period with moderate measures. The reduction of the number of contacts was largest for the eldest participants without frailty. As they interact mostly with adults of a similar high age who are likely frail, this reduction of the number of contacts indirectly protects older adults with frailty from SARS-CoV-2 exposure.ConclusionsThe results of this study reveal that social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic differentially affected the contact patterns of older adults with and without frailty. The reduction of contacts may have led to the direct protection of older adults in general but also to the indirect protection of older adults with frailty.

Project description:BackgroundDuring the Covid-19 pandemic the Dutch government implemented its so-called 'intelligent lockdown' in which people were urged to leave their homes as little as possible and work from home. This life changing event may have caused changes in lifestyle behaviour, an important factor in the onset and course of diseases. The overarching aim of this study is to determine life-style related changes during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic among a representative sample of the adult population in the Netherlands.MethodsLife-style related changes were studied among a random representative sample of the adult population in the Netherlands using an online survey conducted from 22 to 27 May 2020. Differences in COVID-19-related lifestyle changes between Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) users and non-CAM users were determined. The survey included a modified version of the I-CAM-Q and 26 questions on lifestyle related measures, anxiety, and need for support to maintain lifestyle changes.Results1004 respondents were included in the study, aged between 18 and 88 years (50.7% females). Changes to a healthier lifestyle were observed in 19.3% of the population, mainly due to a change in diet habits, physical activity and relaxation, of whom 56.2% reported to be motivated to maintain this behaviour change in a post-COVID-19 era. Fewer respondents (12.3%) changed into an unhealthier lifestyle. Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that changing into a healthier lifestyle was positively associated with the variables 'Worried/Anxious getting COVID-19' (OR: 1.56, 95% C.I. 1.26-1.93), 'CAM use' (OR: 2.04, 95% C.I. 1.38-3.02) and 'stress in relation to financial situation' (OR: 1.89, 95% C.I. 1.30-2.74). 'Age' (OR 18-25: 1.00, OR 25-40: 0.55, 95% C.I. 0.31-0.96, OR 40-55:0.50 95% C.I. 0.28-0.87 OR 55+: 0.1095% C.I. 0.10-0.33), 'stress in relation to health' (OR: 2.52, 95% C.I. 1.64-3.86) and 'stress in relation to the balance work and home' (OR: 1.69, 95% C.I. 1.11-2.57) were found predicting the change into an unhealthier direction.ConclusionThese findings suggest that the coronavirus crisis resulted in a healthier lifestyle in one part and, to a lesser extent, in an unhealthier lifestyle in another part of the Dutch population. Further studies are warranted to see whether this behavioural change is maintained over time, and how different lifestyle factors can affect the susceptibility for and the course of COVID-19.

Dataset Information

Frailty among Older People during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in The Netherlands.

Publications

Frailty among Older People during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in The Netherlands.

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