Older Adults’ Daily Activity and Mood Changes Detected During the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Remote Unobtrusive Monitoring Technologies

Leese, Mira I; Bernstein, John P K; Dorociak, Katherine E; Mattek, Nora; Wu, Chao-Yi; Beattie, Zachary; Dodge, Hiroko H; Kaye, Jeffrey; Hughes, Adriana M

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has limited older adults’ access to in-person medical care, including screenings for cognitive and functional decline. Remote, technology-based tools have shown recent promise in assessing changes in older adults’ daily activities and mood, which may serve as indicators of underlying health-related changes (e.g., cognitive decline). This study examined changes in older adults’ driving, computer use, mood, and travel events prior to and following the COVID-19 emergency declaration using unobtrusive monitoring technologies and remote online surveys. As an exploratory aim, the impact of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) on these changes was assessed. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants were 59 older adults (41 Cognitively Intact, 18 MCI) enrolled in a longitudinal aging study. Participants had their driving and computer use behaviors recorded over a five-month period (75 days pre- and 76 days post-COVID emergency declaration) using unobtrusive technologies. Measures of mood, overnight guests, and frequency of overnight travel were also collected weekly via remote online survey. RESULTS: After adjusting for age, gender, and education, participants showed a significant decrease in daily driving distance, number of driving trips, highway driving, and nighttime driving, post-COVID-19 as compared to pre-COVID-19 (p <0.001) based on generalized estimating equation models. Further, participants spent more time on the computer per day post-COVID-19 (p = 0.03). Participants endorsed increases in blue mood (p <0.01) and loneliness (p <0.001) and decreases in travel away from home and overnight visitors (p < 0.001) from pre- to post-COVID-19. Cognitive status did not impact these relationships. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: From pre- to post-COVID-19 emergency declaration, participants drove and traveled less, used their computer more, had fewer overnight visitors and reported greater psychological distress. These results highlight the behavioral and psychological effects of stay-at-home orders on older adults who are cognitively intact and those with MCI.