TY - JOUR
T1 - Social Frailty in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era
AU - Lozupone, Madia
AU - La Montagna, Maddalena
AU - Di Gioia, Ilaria
AU - Sardone, Rodolfo
AU - Resta, Emanuela
AU - Daniele, Antonio
AU - Giannelli, Gianluigi
AU - Bellomo, Antonello
AU - Panza, Francesco
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the Salus in Apulia Research Team. This manuscript was the result of the research work on frailty undertaken by the Research Network on Aging team, Research Networks of National Health Institutes. The authors thank M. V. Pragnell, B.A., for her precious help as native English supervisor.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2020 Lozupone, La Montagna, Di Gioia, Sardone, Resta, Daniele, Giannelli, Bellomo and Panza.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/11/3
Y1 - 2020/11/3
N2 - Special attention and efforts to protect from or reduce health-related outcomes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus triggering coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), should be applied in susceptible populations, including frail older people. In particular, the early death cases occurred primarily in older people with a frailty status, possibly due to a weaker immune system fostering faster progression of the viral infection. Frailty is an age-related multidimensional clinical condition defined as a non-specific state of vulnerability, identifying older people at increased risk of falls, institutionalization, hospitalization, disability, dementia, and death. Among frailty phenotypes, social frailty has been least studied. It considers the role of socioeconomic context as a vulnerability status later in life. COVID-19 does not affect all populations equally, and social inequalities contribute to drive the spread of infections. It was known that the perception of social isolation, e.g., loneliness, affects mental and physical health, but the implicated molecular mechanisms, also related to the immune system, and its associated cognitive and health-related sequelae, are poorly understood. The increasing psychological distress derived by prolonged exposure to stress due to the lockdown scenario, and the reduced sources of support, contributed to making heavy demands on personal resources, i.e., self-efficacy and interpersonal variables. So, perceived loneliness may be a factor associated with psychological distress and an outcome in itself. In the COVID-19 pandemic era, a correct assessment of social frailty may be essential in terms of the prevention of late-life neuropsychiatric disorders.
AB - Special attention and efforts to protect from or reduce health-related outcomes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus triggering coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), should be applied in susceptible populations, including frail older people. In particular, the early death cases occurred primarily in older people with a frailty status, possibly due to a weaker immune system fostering faster progression of the viral infection. Frailty is an age-related multidimensional clinical condition defined as a non-specific state of vulnerability, identifying older people at increased risk of falls, institutionalization, hospitalization, disability, dementia, and death. Among frailty phenotypes, social frailty has been least studied. It considers the role of socioeconomic context as a vulnerability status later in life. COVID-19 does not affect all populations equally, and social inequalities contribute to drive the spread of infections. It was known that the perception of social isolation, e.g., loneliness, affects mental and physical health, but the implicated molecular mechanisms, also related to the immune system, and its associated cognitive and health-related sequelae, are poorly understood. The increasing psychological distress derived by prolonged exposure to stress due to the lockdown scenario, and the reduced sources of support, contributed to making heavy demands on personal resources, i.e., self-efficacy and interpersonal variables. So, perceived loneliness may be a factor associated with psychological distress and an outcome in itself. In the COVID-19 pandemic era, a correct assessment of social frailty may be essential in terms of the prevention of late-life neuropsychiatric disorders.
KW - biomarkers
KW - coronavirus
KW - immune system
KW - Late-Life Depression (LLD)
KW - loneliness
KW - Multimorbidity (MM)
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - social dysfunction
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U2 - 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.577113
DO - 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.577113
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85096220187
VL - 11
JO - Frontiers in Psychiatry
JF - Frontiers in Psychiatry
SN - 1664-0640
M1 - 577113
ER -