Do reductions of daily activities mediate the relationship between COVID-19 restrictions and mental ill-health among older persons in Europe?

• Objective: Previous research has shown that daily activities are crucial for mental health among older people, and that such activities declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. While previous studies have confirmed a link between stringent restrictions and an increase in mental ill-health, the role of daily activities as a mediator in this relationship remains underexplored. We analyzed whether reductions in daily activities mediated the impact of these COVID-19 restrictions on mental ill-health during the pandemic’s initial phase.Methods: We used data from Wave 8 SHARE Corona Survey covering 41,409 respondents from 25 European countries and Israel as well as data on COVID-19 restrictions from the Oxford Government Response  Tracker  (OxCGRT).  Multilevel  regression  and  multilevel-mediation  analysis  were  used  to  examine the relationships between restrictions, daily activities and mental ill-health.Results: Reductions in walking and shopping showed a notably stronger association with increases in mental ill-health compared to social activities. Furthermore, declines in walking could account for about  a  quarter  of  the  relationship  between  restrictions  and  increased  mental  ill-health,  but  the  mediating effects of the other activates were negligible.Conclusions: The study highlights the essential role of maintaining daily activities, particularly walking, to  mitigate  the  negative  psychological  effects  of  pandemic-related  restrictions  among  older  populations in Europe.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Social och ekonomisk geografi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Social and Economic Geography (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Mental health

restrictions

COVID-19

ageing

Europe

SHARE

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