The COVID-19 Pandemic as a Traumatic Stressor: Mental Health Responses of Older Adults With Chronic PTSD

Abstract

HIGHLIGHTS What is the primary question addressed by this study? This study investigated the change in depressive and trauma-related symptoms, physical activity levels, and alcohol consumption among older adults with chronic Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). What is the main finding of this study? Despite possessing risk factors for adverse mental health consequences secondary to COVID-19, PTSD symptoms significantly declined among PTSD participants relative to trauma exposed healthy comparison subjects (TEs), and no group differences in loneliness, self-reported stress levels, or physical activity were observed. What is the meaning of the finding? These results raise interesting questions regarding to what extent the COVID-19 pandemic may function as a traumatic stressor capable of amplifying or re-triggering symptoms among individuals exposed to a different trauma type earlier in their lives. Catastrophic events may have different, less severe, pathologic implications when they occur on a global scale to all citizens as compared to when they occur to specific individuals or groups. It also is possible that resilience may be conferred on the basis of maturational changes in emotion processing, as older adults with PTSD may benefit from greater wisdom and more adaptive coping styles

Differential psychological response to the COVID-19 pandemic in psychiatric inpatients compared to a non-clinical population from Germany

“…However, distress levels decreased to baseline levels in the weeks that followed (July 2020) highlighting the potential role of resilience in the psychological response to the pandemic [ 18 ]. Similar results were also observed by other research groups [ 19 – 22 ] and summarised in a systematic literature review of population-based longitudinal cohort studies [ 23 ]. The impact of COVID-19-specific stressors could offer an additional explanation, which can only be studied using a more fine-grained dissection of the pandemic’s psychological response.…”

COVID-19 Pandemic as a Traumatic Event and Its Associations with Fear and Mental Health: A Cognitive-Activation Approach

“…However, we are supported by both theoretical and empirical evidence so that we can be a little more confident that the direction may follow the proposed path [ 13 , 37 ]. Future research needs to address the potential bidirectional associations between PTSD symptoms and negative emotions and possible negative spirals in which fear of the COVID-19 pandemic can reinforce intrusive thoughts and maintain an elevated physiological activation or, in contrast, potential adaptation to the traumatic event that may help people cope with the situation [ 40 , 41 ].…”

A Methodological Advance Leads to Surprising Findings in Understanding, Older Adult Trauma Survivor's Responses to Pandemics

“…Rutherford and colleagues’ 4 investigation in this issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry represents a significant advance in methodological rigor and confirms how pre-event data is imperative in getting a more accurate picture of functioning and event-related impact. The authors capitalized on data from an ongoing study of brain aging among men and women with PTSD in New York City.…”