Older Adults’ Attitudes Regarding COVID-19 and Associated Infection Control Measures in Shanghai and Impact on Well-Being

Abstract

This cross-sectional study investigated health management, well-being, and pandemic-related perspectives in Shanghainese adults ≥50 years at the early stages of COVID-19 using a self-report survey in March–April, 2020. Items from the SSS, PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were administered. A total of 1181 primarily married, retired females participated. Many participants had hypertension (44.1%), coronary artery disease (CAD; 17.8%), and diabetes (14.5%). While most (n = 868, 73.5%) were strictly following control measures and perceived they could tolerate >6 months (n = 555, 47.0%) and were optimistic (n = 969, 82.0%). A total of 52 (8.2%) of those with any condition and 19 (3.5%) of those without a condition reported that the pandemic was impacting their health. Somatic symptoms were high (29.4 ± 7.1/36), with sleep/cognitive symptoms highest. Totals of 20.2% and 17.0% of respondents had elevated depressive and anxious symptoms, respectively; greater distress was associated with lower income (p = 0.018), having hypertension (p = 0.001) and CAD (p < 0.001), negative perceptions of global COVID-19 control (p = 0.004), COVID-19 spread (p < 0.001), impact on life/health (p < 0.001), compliance with control measures (p < 0.001), and the toleration of shorter time control measures (p < 0.001) in adjusted analyses. In conclusion, during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, most older adults were optimistic/resilient regarding the epidemic and control measures. However, the distress of older adults was not trivial, particularly in those with health issues.