Anxiety increased in older adults with digital communication during the pandemic

Key takeaways:

• Older adults who communicated digitally during the COVID-19 pandemic had greater levels of anxiety.
• Those who communicated in person reported less depression and loneliness.

During the pandemic, digital communication technology was associated with anxiety in older adults, while in-person communication was linked to fewer feelings of depression and loneliness, data in the Journal of Applied Gerontology showed.

“Older adults face an elevated risk for poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rebecca Robbins, PhD, an instructor in medicine in the division of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate scientist in the division of sleep and circadian disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in a press release. “Unfortunately, necessary public health measures to reduce risk of COVID-19 may have exacerbated the risk for loneliness and mental health concerns among these individuals.”

Robbins and colleagues analyzed data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHATS surveyed its participants, who were Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older, about the impact of the pandemic and the modalities of communicating with friends, family and health care providers during that time. The survey also collected data on feelings of anxiety/worry and depression about the pandemic and feelings of loneliness during the pandemic.

In total, 3,188 participants completed the COVID-19-related survey.

When communicating with friends and family, the use of emails (adjusted prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.28; 95% CI, 1.08-1.52) and video calls (aPR = 1.22; 95% CI, 1.06-1.41) were associated with more feelings of anxiety/worry. However, visiting with family and friends in person was associated with fewer feelings of depression (aPR = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.69-0.97).

Analyses of modality of communication with health care providers revealed similar results. Emails (aPR = 1.23; 95% CI, 1.01-1.45), video calls (aPR = 1.2; 95% CI, 1.01-1.41) and phone calls (aPR = 1.25; 95% CI, 1.06-1.46) were associated with greater feelings of anxiety/worry, but in-person visits were associated with fewer feelings of loneliness (aPR = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.74-0.97).

“Given our study’s findings of increased feelings of anxiety and depression among older adults using digital technologies, we need to consider ways of designing technologies to meet the needs of older adults,” Robbins said in the release.

References:

• Older adults report feelings of anxiety, depression and loneliness following technology use. https://www.brighamandwomens.org/about-bwh/newsroom/press-releases-detail?id=4400. Published April 13, 2023. Accessed April 27, 2023.
• Robbins R, et al. J Appl Gerontol. 2023;doi:10.1177/07334648231169086.