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Seniors Are At Higher Risk From COVID-19 But Are Less Lonely Than Younger Adults : Shots - Health News - NPR

Seniors Are At Higher Risk From COVID-19 But Are Less Lonely Than Younger Adults : Shots - Health News - NPR

Seniors Are At Higher Risk From COVID-19 But Are Less Lonely Than Younger Adults : Shots - Health News - NPR
Nov 26, 2020 2 mins, 10 secs

"You do what you have to do to survive," says Diane Evans, who is fighting pandemic loneliness with technology.

"You do what you have to do to survive," says Diane Evans, who is fighting pandemic loneliness with technology.

On the rare occasion she leaves her room, Diane Evans uses a walker to gingerly navigate San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood.

She is, in fact, a prime candidate during this pandemic to be crushed by loneliness.

"If adverse situations beat you down, there wouldn't be an African American in this country," says Evans.

Recent research reveals that older populations are less consumed by pandemic depression than those that are younger.

And the researchers found that older adults tended to report lower levels of loneliness compared with middle-aged and younger adults.

Kotwal led a study that tracked 150 older adults in the Bay Area over six months, beginning in April.

At the Curry Senior Center, where she lives, older adults who connect virtually with friends and family are doing well, says Angela Di Martino, the facility's wellness program manager.

UCSF geriatrician Louise Aronson says she has been hearing from older people who feel less isolated now than prior to the pandemic, because they live in multigenerational households with family members who no longer rush off to work or school.

About 1 in 4 older adults say they're anxious or depressed, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll, a rate that has more than doubled during the pandemic.

Aronson says she has seen patients who are refusing to eat or who cry alone in their rooms for long stretches.

The researchers attribute the changes to fewer social interactions, a halt to family visits and shifts in schedule, driven by the pandemic.

"Because they haven't touched another human being or been touched by another human being since March," says Aronson, "there is isolation.

She used to dash from table to table to share lewd jokes during group meals, Aronson says.

"All I have to do is turn on my iPhone or my iPad or my computer, and there is a new subject for me to learn," says Sukari Addison, explaining her strategy for surviving social isolation.

"All I have to do is turn on my iPhone or my iPad or my computer, and there is a new subject for me to learn," says Sukari Addison, explaining her strategy for surviving social isolation.

"I learn so much because of technology," she says

"The good news overall is that older adults are adapting

Kotwal says it's critical that doctors and social service agencies track older adults who may not have access to or feel comfortable navigating technology

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