A new longitudinal study published in the International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) sheds light on the heightened risk of depression among older individuals with COPD during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study, which examined 875 participants from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Ageing, reveals significant insights into the mental health challenges faced by this vulnerable population.
According to the research, approximately one in six individuals with COPD, who had no history of depression, experienced depressive symptoms for the first time during the initial phases of the pandemic. This startling revelation underscores the profound impact the pandemic had on individuals who were previously free from depression.
Aneisha Taunque, a research assistant at the Institute for Life Course and Aging at the University of Toronto and the study’s first author, commented, “Our findings highlight the substantial burden of COVID-19 on those who were mentally healthy prior to the pandemic. It is evident that the pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the mental health of many individuals, even those who had no lifetime history of depression.”
When the analysis focused on individuals with a pre-existing history of depression, the prevalence of depression was notably higher. Approximately half of these individuals experienced a recurrence or persistence of depressive symptoms during the autumn of 2020.
Co-author Grace Li, a PhD candidate in the Sociology Department at the University of Victoria, emphasized the vulnerability of older adults who have a history of depressive episodes. She noted, “Older adults who have a history of depressive episodes are a highly vulnerable subset of the population, particularly those who faced numerous challenges with managing their chronic health conditions during the pandemic when access to regular health care was severely disrupted.”
Ishnaa Gulati, a Master of Public Health Student at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and a co-author of the study, further explained, “The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated the risk of depression among those with COPD. There was already an established higher risk of depression among individuals with COPD when compared to those without COPD prior to the pandemic. When considering the mental health stressors during the pandemic, such as extended periods of lockdown, economic precarity, and concerns about contracting or spreading COVID-19, it is unsurprising that this group experienced major mental health challenges during this period.”
While there is a growing body of research on depression during the pandemic, very little has specifically examined the vulnerabilities of individuals with COPD. Identifying risk factors for depression among older adults can aid healthcare professionals in providing more targeted treatment.
The study’s researchers identified several risk factors for both incident and recurrent depression among individuals with COPD, including loneliness, family conflict, and functional limitations. They found that experiencing functional limitations approximately doubled the risk of depression among older adults with COPD.
Ying Jiang, Senior Epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Canada and co-author of the study, highlighted the importance of physical activity for maintaining functional status among COPD patients. However, many individuals with COPD were reluctant to engage in physical activity, and increased sedentary behavior during lockdowns may have contributed to higher rates of depression.
Additionally, the study revealed that women with COPD had nearly double the risk of recurrent depression compared to their male counterparts. The pandemic exacerbated gendered roles for many women, increasing caregiving responsibilities and household labor, which may have contributed to declines in their mental health.
Among individuals with no prior history of depression, experiencing disruptions in healthcare access was associated with approximately double the risk of incident depression. Many people with COPD faced difficulties accessing pulmonary rehabilitation services during the pandemic, which are crucial for supporting both physical and mental health in COPD patients.
Esme Fuller-Thomson, a Professor at the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and Director of the Institute for Life Course & Aging, hopes that these findings will inform healthcare workers and social service providers about the pandemic’s impact on the mental health of individuals with COPD. She also emphasized the need for continued research to understand the long-term effects of the pandemic on this population, even in the post-COVID era.