Objective: This study aimed to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-reported life experiences in older adults with diabetes and obesity.
Methods: Participants were surveyed in 2020 regarding negative and positive impacts of the pandemic across domains of personal, social, and physical experiences. A cumulative negative risk index (a count of all reported negative impacts of 46 items) and a positive risk index (5 items) were characterized in relation to age, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI, and multimorbidity.
Results: Response rate was high (2950/3193, 92%), average age was 76 years, 63% were women, and 39% were from underrepresented populations. Women reported more negative impacts than men (6.8 vs. 5.6; p < 0.001 [of 46 items]) as did persons with a greater multimorbidity index (p < 0.001). Participants reporting African American/Black race reported fewer negative impacts than White participants. Women also reported more positive impacts than men (1.9 vs. 1.6; p < 0.001 [of 5 items]).
Conclusions: Older adults with diabetes and obesity reported more positive impacts of the pandemic than negative impacts, relative to the number of positive (or negative) items presented. Some subgroups experienced greater negative impacts (e.g., for women, a greater multimorbidity index). Efforts to reestablish personal, social, and physical health after the pandemic could target certain groups.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00017953.
© 2022 The Authors. Obesity published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Obesity Society (TOS).