Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of middle-aged and older Europeans

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a general decline in well-being. However, there is limited evidence on the effect of the pandemic on the general population, and especially among the ageing population. We assessed the overall impact of the pandemic on the well-being of middle-aged and older adults residing in 27 European countries, focusing on the time-period before summer 2021. We used a sample of 46,209 respondents from the two population-based longitudinal Corona Surveys collected during summer 2020 and summer 2021. To test our hypotheses, we used latent change score models. All analyses were stratified by sex. The COVID-19 pandemic affected middle-aged and older Europeans’ well-being irrespective of their sex. Being infected by the COVID-19 virus at the start of the pandemic had a negative impact on well-being. As expected, adults with Long COVID experienced the most pronounced decline in well-being. A novel finding was the decline in the level of well-being among adults not infected by the COVID-19 virus. Support should be provided at community levels with specific attention towards individuals with Long COVID symptoms and those infected with COVID-19 at earlier stages of the pandemic.