key: cord-1046557-q40ipxi7
authors: Almeida, Osvaldo P.; Jimenez, Esther; Rej, Soham; Eyler, Lisa; Sajatovic, Martha; Dols, Annemiek
title: COVID‐19 and older adults with bipolar disorder: Problems and solutions
date: 2021-03-12
journal: Bipolar Disord
DOI: 10.1111/bdi.13069
sha: 6ec3d4aae50d66fd01ab3b87fd248da5a3179999
doc_id: 1046557
cord_uid: q40ipxi7

The implementation of public health measures designed to limit the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been applied particularly stringently to people at high risk of complications, such as individuals older than 70 years and people with concurrent health morbidities like chronic respiratory or cardiovascular diseases. Older adults suffering from mental disorders are an especially high-risk group not only because of their age, but also because the prevalence of chronic somatic conditions is disproportionately high in this group.

The implementation of public health measures designed to limit the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been applied particularly stringently to people at high risk of complications, such as individuals older than 70 years and people with concurrent health morbidities like chronic respiratory or cardiovascular diseases. Older adults suffering from mental disorders are an especially high-risk group not only because of their age but also because the prevalence of chronic somatic conditions is disproportionately high in this group.

Data on hospital admissions for people with mental disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic are yet to be published, although preliminary evidence suggests that adults with BD have been reporting increasing psychological distress and symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Further emerging evidence suggests that the pandemic has been associated with a marked drop in hospital admissions for all causes other than COVID-19 related, 1 raising concerns about how this might affect the management of people with chronic health conditions and their access to services, including people with BD. At this point in time, it is unclear how the pandemic will affect older adults with BD (OABD), although withholding action until more evidence becomes available is unlikely to be helpful. A high proportion of OABD have concurrent chronic somatic morbidities and cognitive deficits 2 and therefore deserve particular attention as the medical and psychiatric community responds to the pandemic. We anticipate that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this group will unfold along four overlapping stages (Table 1 ). Here, we will describe the expected complications of the pandemic and suggest mitigating measures for each stage. Annemiek Dols https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1964-0318

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How to cite this article

COVID-19 and older adults with bipolar disorder: Problems and solutions