Social connections and depressive symptoms among older adults during the initial lockdown period for COVID-19

Introduction. Little information from developing countries during the first lockdown for COVID-19 is available. We hypothesized that the use of communication tools, and not living alone would provide a protective effect against DS. Objective. To determine the association between social connections and depressive symptoms (DS) during the first lockdown period among Mexican community-dwelling older adults. Method. Cross-sectional phone survey including 269 participants aged 65 years or older. Participants were asked about their social connections and the presence of DS during the first lockdown for COVID-19. Results. Mean age was 83.2 (SD = 6.7). Compared with those without DS, those with DS reported a greater number of phone calls or videocalls although this was not statistically significant. However, when stratifying by housing situation, only the participants who lived alone and that received less calls from friends had more DS (p = .04). Discussion and conclusion. Living alone allowed the participants not to have much contact with family and this caused friends to represent the most important social relationship outside the home. We hypothesize that the means to stay socially active for older adults in Latin America are different and have a different impact. Because, DS only were present among the participants who reported living alone and having fewer calls from friends during the confinement period.