534 - Grief in de elderly and its impact

Abstract

Introduction With coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a lot of people have succumbed and olderadults were disproportionately affected. (1,2) Also, grief is encountered frequently in clinical practicewith the elderly, and can be defined as the natural response to the death of a loved one. Still, when afailure of adaptation occurs then a Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) can be diagnosed, which has beenrecently included in ICD-11. The principal feature of PGD is a persistent preoccupation or an intenselonging for the deceased that lasts longer than 6 months after the death. (3)Objective: Comprehend the grief in the elderly and its implications in their health.Method: The author conducted a literature review by searching the Pubmed database using thekeywords elderly; grief; complicated grief; covid-19Results: PGD is relatively prevalent among the elderly and has been associated with some variablesrelated to the death time of the deceased, being the prevalence inversely correlated with thedeceased's. (4, 5) Additionally, older adults present a higher risk of developing PGD when they are less educated, male, have poorer cognitive performance, and a history of depression. (3) PGD ischaracterized by sadness, fascination with or excessive avoidance of the memories associated withthe deceased, the memory of the loss and mental ruminations about death. According to someinvestigations, PGD reduces life expectancy, increasing the odds of death, causes severe behaviouralsymptoms, and is associated with longer-term functional impairment. (4,5)Conclusion: Given these results, it is easy to understand the need for a closer monitoring of thesepatients during this global crisis. Moreover, it is also important to find new ways to do that whilecomplying with COVID-19 rules and restrictions. A short-term evidence-based intervention for PGDeffective in the elderly is based on support focused upon these seven themes: understanding theirgrief, managing emotional pain, thinkingabout the future, strengthening their relationships, telling thestory of the dead, learning to live with reminders of the deceased, and connecting with memories. (3).