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Social Isolation in COVID-19: Impact of Loneliness and NCDs on Mental and Physical Health of Older Adults

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Handbook of Aging, Health and Public Policy

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Abstract

Social isolation and loneliness have been linked to negative physical and mental health outcomes, including increased depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as an increased risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity, cognitive decline, and other noncommunicable diseases. During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone was advised to follow physical distancing as a preventive measure. Lockdowns have been imposed, and all of this was very new to everyone. This brought drastic changes in older people’s daily routines, lifestyles, the care and support they receive, their ability to stay socially connected, and how they are perceived. They have received stricter directives on physical distancing as they were one of the first groups encouraged to stay home and are more prone to getting COVID-19 infections. Older people are being challenged by requirements to spend more time at home, lack of physical contact with other family members, friends and colleagues, temporary cessation of employment and other activities, and anxiety and fear of illness and death. The burden of pre-existing noncommunicable diseases or comorbidities, as well as the prevalence of communicable diseases, was exacerbating their situation. The aim of the present study is to determine the impact of social isolation, loneliness, and existing comorbidities on the mental and physical health of the elderly during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic globally.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Shweta Jain & Meenal Dhall

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  1. Shweta Jain
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  2. Meenal Dhall
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  1. University, Sambalpur University, Sambalpur, India

    Tattwamasi Paltasingh

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Jain, S., Dhall, M. (2023). Social Isolation in COVID-19: Impact of Loneliness and NCDs on Mental and Physical Health of Older Adults. In: Handbook of Aging, Health and Public Policy. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1914-4_187-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1914-4_187-1

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