Venerable vulnerability or remarkable resilience? A prospective study of the impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine measures on loneliness in Swedish older adults with home care

Abstract

Objectives To examine the early impact of the pandemic and of quarantine measures targeting older adults introduced in March 2020 on loneliness among older adults in Sweden.Design Prospective pretest–posttest and controlled interrupted time series designs.Setting The population of older adults receiving home care before and during the emergence of the first COVID-19 pandemic wave in Sweden in Spring 2020.Participants Respondents (n=45 123, mean age 85.6 years, 67.6% women) came from two waves of a total population survey targeting all community-dwelling older adults receiving home care for older adults in Sweden in Spring 2019 and 2020.Outcome Self-reported loneliness.Results Results estimated 14% (95% CI: 10 to 19) higher loneliness in Spring 2020 compared with 2019, taking covariates into account. No impact of the quarantine measure was found (1% increase, 95% CI: −1 to 4).Conclusions The results illustrate the broader public health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for older adults, but also suggest a relative resilience among older adults in home care to quarantine measures, at least during the first months of the pandemic. Future studies should examine the long-term effects of sustained pandemic and social distancing measures on loneliness among older adults.