How do older age, gender and risk groups affect protective behaviours and mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic?

COVID-19 infection is severe in the presence of older age, male gender and risk factors. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the level of anxiety created by immensely spreading COVID-19-related information and age, gender and the presence of risk factors.

The data used in this study were obtained by collecting a 25-question questionnaire created through Google forms with various communication tools.

The data of 929 people who answered the questionnaire were used. The level of anxiety increased with age significantly, upon hearing that a person from their age group was harmed by the virus (P < .001). The feelings of being depressed and hopeless significantly increased as the age increased (P < .001). There was no significant difference between the genders in terms of feeling depressed and feeling of lack of joy in life (P = .066, P = .308, respectively). Participants with chronic diseases stated that they felt more depressed and hopeless and a lack of joy in life more frequently (P < .001).

Our results indicated that individuals with older age and having risk factors were more vulnerable to the stress caused by the pandemic. It is necessary for healthcare providers to identify high-risk groups by considering these situations, in order to make early psychological interventions.