Healthcare utilisation, physical activity and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown: an interrupted time-series analysis of older adults in England

COVID-19 measures which reduce interpersonal contact may be effective in containing the transmission, but their impacts on peoples’ well-being and daily lives overtime remain unclear. Older adults are more vulnerable to both the virus and social isolation. It is therefore imperative to understand how they were affected during this period. Major concerns arising from the pandemic cover the aspects of mental health, healthcare utilisation and individual behavioural changes. Complementing the existing before-and-after analyses, we explore the impacts of easing and re-introducing COVID-19 measures by using a time-series data in England. The data was collected between May and November 2020 from the monthly surveys of the Platform for Research Online to Investigate Genetics and Cognition in Aging (PROTECT). Chi-squared analysis and interrupted time-series analysis were conducted to examine impacts of easing and re-introducing COVID-19 measures. Overall, mental health improves overtime but at a decreasing rate. The use of telephone/video consultations with a doctor or health professional presented a decreasing trend during the pandemic, whilst that of in-person consultation was increasing overtime. We observed significant variations in the time trends of mental health measures, healthcare utilisation and physical activity following the ease but not the re-introduction of COVID-19 measures. Future research is required to understand if these asymmetric impacts were driven by adaption of the people or stringency of the measures. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10433-022-00741-y.