Post-COVID-19 Psychiatric Symptoms in the Elderly: The Role of Gender and Resilience
COVID-19 represents an overwhelming stressor to mental health. Elderly individuals are particularly at risk, but it is still unclear whether the risk is equally distributed among men and women. The aim of this study was to define gender differences in persistent psychiatric symptoms after COVID-19 i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Personalized Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/12/12/2016 |
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| author | Delfina Janiri Matteo Tosato Alessio Simonetti Silvia Montanari Beatrice Terenzi Antonello Catinari Lorenzo De Mori Gaspare Filippo Ferrajoli Georgios D. Kotzalidis Francesco Landi Roberto Bernabei Gabriele Sani |
| author_facet | Delfina Janiri Matteo Tosato Alessio Simonetti Silvia Montanari Beatrice Terenzi Antonello Catinari Lorenzo De Mori Gaspare Filippo Ferrajoli Georgios D. Kotzalidis Francesco Landi Roberto Bernabei Gabriele Sani |
| author_sort | Delfina Janiri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | COVID-19 represents an overwhelming stressor to mental health. Elderly individuals are particularly at risk, but it is still unclear whether the risk is equally distributed among men and women. The aim of this study was to define gender differences in persistent psychiatric symptoms after COVID-19 illness and to test their association with resilience factors. <b>Methods:</b> We assessed 348 individuals aged >65 years at a multidisciplinary post-COVID-19 service. Mood and anxiety symptoms were investigated, as well as psychological distress and resilience, as assessed with the Kessler-10 (K10) Scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), respectively. Multivariate and linear regression analyses were used to test the distribution patterns of psychiatric symptoms and resilience factors. <b>Results:</b> In the total sample, 214 (61.5%) were men (a mean age of 73.25 years ±6.04) and 134 (38.5%) were women (a mean age of 72.69 years ±6.43; <i>p</i> = 0.407). Men and women significantly differed in marital status (<i>χ</i><sup>2</sup> = 25.17; <i>p</i> < 0.001, more men were married), living alone (<i>χ</i><sup>2</sup> = 11.62; <i>p</i> < 0.01, fewer men were living alone), hospitalization during COVID-19 illness (<i>χ</i><sup>2</sup> = 12.35; <i>p</i> < 0.001, more men were hospitalized during COVID-19), and subjective health status before COVID-19 infection (<i>χ</i><sup>2</sup> = 4.32; <i>p</i> < 0.001, men reporting better subjective health than women). Women reported more psychiatric symptoms and fewer resilience factors than men. Low resilience levels significantly predicted psychological distress in both men and women. <b>Conclusions:</b> The female elderly population affected by COVID-19 showed a greater vulnerability to psychiatric symptoms. Our data point to the need to strengthen resilience resources, especially in women. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:13:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b67e1ba65d7947d884dbd88d34db7886 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4426 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:13:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Personalized Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-b67e1ba65d7947d884dbd88d34db78862023-11-24T16:02:11ZengMDPI AGJournal of Personalized Medicine2075-44262022-12-011212201610.3390/jpm12122016Post-COVID-19 Psychiatric Symptoms in the Elderly: The Role of Gender and ResilienceDelfina Janiri0Matteo Tosato1Alessio Simonetti2Silvia Montanari3Beatrice Terenzi4Antonello Catinari5Lorenzo De Mori6Gaspare Filippo Ferrajoli7Georgios D. Kotzalidis8Francesco Landi9Roberto Bernabei10Gabriele Sani11Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, ItalyGeriatrics Department, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (NESMOS), Sapienza University of Rome, Via di Grottarossa 1035-1039, 00189 Rome, ItalyGeriatrics Department, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, ItalyGeriatrics Department, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, ItalyCOVID-19 represents an overwhelming stressor to mental health. Elderly individuals are particularly at risk, but it is still unclear whether the risk is equally distributed among men and women. The aim of this study was to define gender differences in persistent psychiatric symptoms after COVID-19 illness and to test their association with resilience factors. <b>Methods:</b> We assessed 348 individuals aged >65 years at a multidisciplinary post-COVID-19 service. Mood and anxiety symptoms were investigated, as well as psychological distress and resilience, as assessed with the Kessler-10 (K10) Scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), respectively. Multivariate and linear regression analyses were used to test the distribution patterns of psychiatric symptoms and resilience factors. <b>Results:</b> In the total sample, 214 (61.5%) were men (a mean age of 73.25 years ±6.04) and 134 (38.5%) were women (a mean age of 72.69 years ±6.43; <i>p</i> = 0.407). Men and women significantly differed in marital status (<i>χ</i><sup>2</sup> = 25.17; <i>p</i> < 0.001, more men were married), living alone (<i>χ</i><sup>2</sup> = 11.62; <i>p</i> < 0.01, fewer men were living alone), hospitalization during COVID-19 illness (<i>χ</i><sup>2</sup> = 12.35; <i>p</i> < 0.001, more men were hospitalized during COVID-19), and subjective health status before COVID-19 infection (<i>χ</i><sup>2</sup> = 4.32; <i>p</i> < 0.001, men reporting better subjective health than women). Women reported more psychiatric symptoms and fewer resilience factors than men. Low resilience levels significantly predicted psychological distress in both men and women. <b>Conclusions:</b> The female elderly population affected by COVID-19 showed a greater vulnerability to psychiatric symptoms. Our data point to the need to strengthen resilience resources, especially in women.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/12/12/2016COVID-19depressionanxietygenderwomenresilience |
| spellingShingle | Delfina Janiri Matteo Tosato Alessio Simonetti Silvia Montanari Beatrice Terenzi Antonello Catinari Lorenzo De Mori Gaspare Filippo Ferrajoli Georgios D. Kotzalidis Francesco Landi Roberto Bernabei Gabriele Sani Post-COVID-19 Psychiatric Symptoms in the Elderly: The Role of Gender and Resilience Journal of Personalized Medicine COVID-19 depression anxiety gender women resilience |
| title | Post-COVID-19 Psychiatric Symptoms in the Elderly: The Role of Gender and Resilience |
| title_full | Post-COVID-19 Psychiatric Symptoms in the Elderly: The Role of Gender and Resilience |
| title_fullStr | Post-COVID-19 Psychiatric Symptoms in the Elderly: The Role of Gender and Resilience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Post-COVID-19 Psychiatric Symptoms in the Elderly: The Role of Gender and Resilience |
| title_short | Post-COVID-19 Psychiatric Symptoms in the Elderly: The Role of Gender and Resilience |
| title_sort | post covid 19 psychiatric symptoms in the elderly the role of gender and resilience |
| topic | COVID-19 depression anxiety gender women resilience |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/12/12/2016 |
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