Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Swedish adults aged 77 years and older: Age differences in lifestyle changesShow others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, ISSN 1403-4948, E-ISSN 1651-1905, Vol. 51, no 5, p. 764-768Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Sustainable development
00. Sustainable Development, 3. Good health and well-being
Abstract [en]
Aims: This study aimed to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle and social activities among older adults in Sweden, with a special focus on differences between the ‘younger old’ (aged 77–84) and ‘older old’ (aged 85–109).
Methods: This study is based on a nationally representative sample of older adults (aged ⩾77 years) in Sweden (SWEOLD). Data were collected between May 2021 and April 2022, when many recommendations were removed but the virus was still classified as a public health disease. We studied occurrences and differences between the two age groups in several lifestyle factors and social activities.
Results: The younger old displayed larger changes in lifestyles because of the pandemic than the older old. Most changes were found in social interactions with family.
Conclusions: Our results highlight the large heterogeneity within the Swedish population aged ⩾77 years, and that the younger old experienced a bigger lifestyle change than the older old. Previous activity levels might be important to consider in order to understand how regulations may affect the older population. Finally, our findings indicate large age differences in Internet use, which require attention to prevent digital exclusion of an already vulnerable group.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2023. Vol. 51, no 5, p. 764-768
Keywords [en]
age, COVID-19 pandemic, Internet use, Lifestyle factors, older adults, social contacts, Sweden
National Category
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-60395DOI: 10.1177/14034948231172249ISI: 000983353500001PubMedID: 37151122Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85158831813Local ID: HOA;;880978OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-60395DiVA, id: diva2:1758204
2023-05-222023-05-222023-09-06Bibliographically approved