Our study aims to examine the associations of sociodemographic factors, social support, resilience, and perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic with late-life depression and anxiety symptoms in a cardiovascular risk group and a matched sample from the German general population during the beginning of the pandemic and draw a comparison regarding psychosocial characteristics. Data of n = 1236 participants (aged 64–81 years) were analyzed, with n = 618 participants showing a cardiovascular risk profile, and n = 618 participants from the general population. The cardiovascular risk sample had slightly higher levels of depressive symptoms and felt more threatened by the virus due to pre-existing conditions. In the cardiovascular risk group, social support was associated with less depressive and anxiety symptoms. In the general population, high social support was associated with less depressive symptoms. Experiencing high levels of worries due to COVID-19 was associated with more anxiety in the general population. Resilience was associated with less depressive and anxiety symptoms in both groups. Compared to the general population, the cardiovascular risk group showed slightly higher levels of depressive symptomatology even at the beginning of the pandemic and may be supported by addressing perceived social support and resilience in prevention programs targeting mental health.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Die Bevölkerungsgruppe der Hochaltrigen gehört zu den Hochrisikogruppen in Bezug auf einen schweren Erkrankungsverlauf und erhöhte Mortalität bei Ansteckung mit dem Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (engl.: Severe Acute Raspiratory Syndrom Coronavirus 2). Sie ist durch die COVID-19-Pandemie selbst, aber auch durch Maßnahmen des Gesundheitsschutzes möglicherweise einem höheren Risiko für psychische Belastung ausgesetzt. Es soll untersucht werden, wie sich Symptomatiken von Depressivität, Ängstlichkeit und Somatisierung im Verlauf der Pandemie verändern und welche Rolle die soziale Unterstützung dabei spielt. Methoden Mittels zweier schriftlicher Befragungen von n = 156 Hochaltrigen in den Zeiträumen Mai bis Juni 2020 sowie März bis Mai 2021 wurden neben soziodemografischen Daten Faktoren der psychischen Belastung (Depressivität, Ängstlichkeit, Somatisierung) sowie die wahrgenommene soziale Unterstützung erfasst. Das mittlere Alter der Befragten betrug 87,20 Jahre (SD = 4,65; Altersspanne = 77,68–96,75 Jahre; 2020) bzw. 88,03 Jahre (SD = 4,63; Altersspanne = 78,52–97,62; 2021). Die Daten wurden mittels Wilcoxon-t-Tests und generalisierter linearer Regressionsmodelle analysiert. Ergebnisse Es lässt sich eine signifikante Zunahme der Ausprägung psychischer Belastung hinsichtlich Depressivität, Ängstlichkeit und Somatisierung erkennen. Höhere Werte der psychischen Belastung im Jahr 2020 sind mit einer höheren psychischen Belastung im Jahr 2021 assoziiert. Eine stärkere wahrgenommene soziale Unterstützung im Jahr 2020 ist mit geringerer Depressivität ein Jahr später assoziiert. Schlussfolgerung Bei hochaltrigen Menschen ist im Verlauf der COVID-19-Pandemie bis Mai 2021 eine Zunahme der psychischen Belastung zu verzeichnen. Sie sollten durch präventive Angebote unterstützt werden, um einer weiteren Zunahme der Symptomatik vorzubeugen. Der Ausbau von sozialer Unterstützung könnte v. a. bei der Prävention depressiver Symptomatik sinnvoll sein.

The aim of the study is to investigate psychosocial factors that are associated with positive and negative coping with stress, as well as with worries about and perceived threat by COVID-19 to enable us to provide adequate support for oldest-old individuals. A paper–pencil-based survey assessed COVID-19 worries and perceived threat, depression, anxiety, somatization, social support, loneliness, resilience, positive and negative coping in a sample of n = 197 oldest-old individuals (78–100 years). Linear multivariate and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted. Individuals with high levels of resilience were more likely to feel self-efficient when coping with stress. High levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness were associated with feeling more helpless when coping with stress. However, oldest-old individuals who felt lonely also experienced situations where they felt competent in stress coping. Being male and experiencing high levels of social support was more likely associated with high levels of worries due to COVID-19. Increased age and higher levels of depression were associated with lower levels of perceived personal threat, whereas higher somatization scores were more likely associated with higher perceived personal threat. Findings suggest that mental health factors may shape the way oldest-old individuals cope with pandemic-related stress. Resilience might be an important factor to take into account when targeting an improvement in positive coping with stress. Oldest-old individuals who have higher levels of depression, anxiety and feel lonely may be supported by adapting their coping skill repertoire to reduce the feeling of helplessness when coping with stress.

Background This prospective, cross-sectional, observational study examined associations between sense of coherence (SOC), mental well-being, and perceived preoperative hospital and surgery related stress of surgical patients with malignant, benign, and no neoplasms. The objective was to assess a putative association between SOC and preoperative stress, and to test for a statistical mediation by mental well-being. Method The sample consisted of 4918 patients from diverse surgical fields, of which 945 had malignant neoplasms, 333 benign neoplasms, and 3640 no neoplasms. For each subsample, we conducted simple mediation analyses to test an indirect effect of SOC on preoperative stress mediated by mental well-being. The models were adjusted for age, gender, and essential medical factors. Results Patient groups did not differ significantly regarding degrees of SOC and mental well-being (SOC, M [SD]: 12.31 [2.59], 12.02 [2.62], 12.18 [2.57]; mental well-being M [SD]: 59.26 [24.05], 56.89 [22.67], 57.31 [22.87], in patients with malignant, benign, and without neoplasms, respectively). Patients without neoplasms reported significantly lower stress (4.19 [2.86], M [SD]) than those with benign (5.02 [3.03], M [SD]) and malignant neoplasms (4.99 [2.93], M [SD]). In all three mediation models, SOC had significant direct effects on stress, with higher SOC being associated with lower stress (− 0.3170 [0.0407], − 0.3484 [0.0752], − 0.2919 [0.0206]; c’ [SE], p < 0.001 in patients with malignant, benign, and without neoplasms, respectively). In patients with malignant neoplasms and without neoplasms, SOC showed small indirect effects on stress that were statistically mediated by well-being. Higher SOC was related to higher well-being, which in turn was related to lower stress. In patients with benign neoplasms, however, no significant indirect effects of SOC were found. Conclusions SOC was directly associated with lower perceived hospital and surgery related stress, over and above the direct and mediation effects of mental well-being. Because the data are cross-sectional, conclusions implying causality cannot be drawn. Nevertheless, they indicate important relationships that can inform treatment approaches to reduce elevated preoperative stress by specifically addressing low SOC. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01357694. Registered 18 May 2011