Health-related Quality of Life of Community-dwelling Elderly during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

[Purpose] To examine the health-related quality of life of community-dwelling elderly by age group in the early stage of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. [Participants and Methods] The subjects were 201 older adults who had attended a university open lecture at least once in the past. Responses to a questionnaire, sent to the participants on April 1st, 2020, were compared with those collected after the most recent open lecture. The questionnaire items included age, outing frequency, and the Short Form-36 item health survey ver.2 (SF-36). [Results] For those in their 60s and 70s, the scores for “Physical functioning”, “Social functioning” and “Mental health” were significantly lower after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic than before. For those in their 80s, there was no significant difference between the SF-36 scores recorded before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. [Conclusion] Care for older adults in an emergency situation should be tailored according to age group.