Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depressive symptoms and anxiety among the elderly in the world scenario: A systematic review with meta-analysis.
COVID-2019 pandemics; depression; anxiety; elderly; Nursing.
Brazil and the world went through a pandemic due to the COVID-19 virus, given the new
mutation of the coronavirus. In this pandemic scenario, the elderly were characterized as a
vulnerable population due to the interinsectic characteristics of this public. In addition to non-
communicable chronic diseases, psychological comorbidities such as depression and anxiety
have been described as diseases with a higher incidence in the elderly population, including
during and after the pandemic. Thus, the study aims to analyze the impacts caused by the
covid-19 pandemic on depressive symptoms and anxiety among elderly people on the world
stage. This is a systematic review that followed the PRISMA guidelines, PVO strategy,
registered in PROSPERO - CRD42023451218. The databases used were: SCOPUS,
MEDILINE/PubMed, EMBASE and Psychoinfo. The following Boolean descriptors and
operators “AND” and “OR” were used as a search strategy and inclusion of alternative terms:
“COVID-19 pandemics OR COVID 19 Virus Infection” AND “Depression OR Depressive
Disorder OR depressive symptoms” AND “Anxiety OR Anxiety Disorders) AND (Aged OR
Geriatrics), selecting studies from 2020 to 2023, with data collection in the same period,
considering that on January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a Public Health
Emergency of International Concern disclosed in various social media due to the spread of the
coronavirus. For this study, age related to the elderly refers to people aged ≥60 years. General
data analysis was carried out using the R 4.0 software. the DerSimonian-Laird model with
random effect and calculation of proportion and correlation using a confidence interval of
95% and significance of 0.05. In addition, a predictive analysis was performed analyzing the
meta-regression. studies with a high risk of bias in addition to determining the risk of
publication bias with the funnel plot, together with the meta-regression analysis. In addition,
outliers were excluded and subgroups were analyzed. A total of 6,595 articles were found,
with 16 articles being eligible after application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Levels of
stress, quality of life, quality of sleep, emotional distress, concern and family care stood out as
factors that significantly contributed to the development of depressive symptoms and anxiety
among the elderly worldwide. According to the analysis carried out, there was a prevalence of
more than 50% of association between variables related to the pandemic and the development
of depression and anxiety with CI from 0.45 to 0.60 and p-value < 0.05. With analysis of the
studies, almost 16 thousand people of the interest group were evaluated, already considering
the losses that occurred in the researches. According to the bias analysis, no bias was
identified. Through the results, it is concluded that the restrictive measures adopted in the
COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the entire pandemic scenario, had a considerable impact on
the mental health of the elderly in the global context.