The Effect of Fear of COVID-19 and Social Isolation on the Fragility in the Elderly

Abstract

Introduction: The most important matter on which a consensus is built about COVID-19 disease is that the elderly are one of the most vulnerable risk groups In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fragility of the elderly Materials and Methods: The study is a cross-sectional study conducted at the end of the sixth month of the pandemic Our study included 319 elderly individuals The elderly individuals were reached at the primary level health centers "FRAIL Frailty Scale" and "Coronavirus Fear Scale" were used in the evaluation Results: The results showed that 72 4% of the elderly population could not comply with the routine health checks and chronic complaints increased to 39 3% during social isolation In the first six-month period of the pandemic, it was found that the prefrail and fragile elderly population increase by 4 7% and 6 6%, respectively The fragility risk increased by 1 03 times (OR:1 001-1 007) as COVID-19 fear increased, while 2 2 times (OR:1 23-3 94) in those with diabetes, 1 88 times (OR:1 01-3 49) in those with cardiovascular diseases, and 2 15 times (OR:1 07-4 34) in those who postponed their routine health checks Conclusion: Early stage results of social isolation measures taken for the elderly within the scope of the pandemic indicated that fear of coronavirus infection increased fragility among the elderly Elderly health evaluations should continue in the further stages of the pandemic