Pandemonium: How COVID-19 Has Impacted Emotional Experience in Older Adults

INTRODUCTION: In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are left with the detrimental aftermath it has had on the physical and emotional health and well-being of older adults. Preliminary results from the Neurobiology of Late-Life Depression (NBOLD) study found that compared with 27 non-depressed older control subjects, 33 older depressed subjects scored higher on measures of neuroticism and showed significant differences in measures of neuroticism and emotional controls(.) Individuals with neuroticism not only tend to be prone to negative affect but also emotional instability and anxiety, increasing vulnerability when exposed to stressors, such as those which arose with COVID-19. Our previous pandemic-related study also found that both depressed older adults and age-matched emotional controls study saw an increase in depression from 2020 through 2021, however, both groups additionally saw an increase in resilience from baseline to the start of the pandemic. Resilience was also found to be positively correlated with positive home life and social activities during COVID-19. With that being said, it has been shown that resilience requires optimism and a positive perception of experiences in order to overcome adversity and have a successful adaptive response. The present study examined how various life domains affected by COVID-19 were related to positive and negative emotional experiences among groups of older adults with or without a history of major depressive disorder (MDD). Based on our previous data and what we know about neuroticism in MDD, we hypothesized that those with MDD would be more likely to have a change in the negative sum of emotional experience, especially as it pertained to emotional and social health and social isolation. METHODS: The study population included older adults previously diagnosed with MDD and a cohort of never-depressed older adults, both of whom have been enrolled in the N-BOLD study at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Data collection occurred from May 2020 to Fall 2021 via telephone and in-person interviews. The Epidemic Pandemic Impacts Inventory-Geriatric Adaptation (EPII-G) and the Sum of Emotional Experiences (Sum EE) were used to assess the outcome variables. Spearman Correlation Testing was used for statistical analysis to evaluate the relationship between EPII-G components and the positive and negative sum of emotional experiences. RESULTS: Our initial analyses have shown that early on in the pandemic, a negative impact on home life from COVID-19 positively correlated with a negative Sum EE, with a correlation coefficient (CC) of 0.5 and p-value of 0.02 in the previously depressed group. In that same group, the perception of positive changes due to the pandemic negatively correlated with a negative Sum EE (CC = -0.49 and p=0.02). Social activity both positively correlated with positive Sum EE (CC=0.42 and p=0.057) and negatively correlated to a negative Sum EE (CC= -0.46 and p=0.03). In the non-depressed group, a negative impact on emotional health and well-being (EHWB) positively correlated with a negative Sum EE (CC =0.75 and p=0.03) and negatively correlated with a positive Sum EE (CC= -0.65 and p= 0.08). During the summer of 2021, both cohorts saw that negative EHWB and physical health problems positively correlated to negative Sum EE. The previously depressed group had a CC of 0.33 (p=0.06) for EHWB and 0.52 (p=0.002) for physical health. The emotional controls had a CC of 0.81 (p=0.008) for EHWB and 0.76 (p=0.01) for physical health. CONCLUSIONS: When an individual's psychosocial support was threatened or deleteriously impacted by the pandemic, whether a person was previously diagnosed with depression or not, there was a similar increase in the overall experience of negative emotions. Our previous study found that both groups did see an increase in overall depression scoring, which may be contributory, causing increased emotional instability and psychological vulnerability. Despite this, in instances where there was positive perception or strong social support, there were more overall positive emotional experiences. These more optimistic emotions may contribute to an individual's resilience, allowing for easier adaptation in the face of change. Of note, as the pandemic progressed, both groups were newly negatively emotionally impacted by changes to their physical health. This may be due in part to limited access to healthcare from isolation and a shift to telemedicine during that time. By further analyzing the data, we can trend the changes in emotional experience over time and further determine which pandemic-related factors were most detrimental and which may have contributed to resilience. THIS RESEARCH WAS FUNDED BY: This study was supported by NIMH grant R01 MH108578.