000K utf8 1100 $c2023 1500 eng 2050 urn:nbn:de:gbv:8:3-2024-00039-9 2051 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1141433 3000 Wittmann, Felix G 3010 Brettschneider, Christian 3010 Döhring, Juliane 3010 Escales, Catharina 3010 Frese, Thomas 3010 Gensichen, Jochen 3010 Hoffmann, Wolfgang 3010 Kaduszkiewicz, Hanna 3010 Kästner, Anika 3010 König, Hans-Helmut 3010 Kosilek, Robert Philipp 3010 Luppa, Melanie 3010 Oey, Anke 3010 Pabst, Alexander 3010 Riedel-Heller, Steffi G 3010 Thyrian, Jochen René 3010 Wiese, Birgitt 3010 Zöllinger, Isabel 3010 Zülke, Andrea 4000 COVID-19 government measures and their impact on mental health: a cross-sectional study of older primary care patients in Germany$hFrontiers Media SA [Wittmann, Felix G] 4030 $nFrontiers Media SA 4209 Background With the outbreak of COVID-19, government measures including social distancing and restrictions of social contacts were imposed to slow the spread of the virus. Since older adults are at increased risk of severe disease, they were particularly affected by these restrictions. These may negatively affect mental health by loneliness and social isolation, which constitute risk factors for depressiveness. We aimed to analyse the impact of perceived restriction due to government measures on depressive symptoms and investigated stress as mediator in an at-risk-population in Germany. Methods Data were collected in April 2020 from the population of the AgeWell.de-study, including individuals with a Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Incidence of Dementia (CAIDE) score ≥9, using the depression subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4). Feeling restricted due to COVID-19 government measures was surveyed with a standardized questionnaire. Results We analysed data from 810 older adults (mean age = 69.9, SD = 5). Feeling restricted due to COVID-19 government measures was linked to increased depressiveness (b = 0.19; p < 0.001). The association was no longer significant when adding stress and covariates (b = 0.04; p = 0.43), while stress was linked to increased depressive symptoms (b = 0.22; p < 0.001). A final model confirms the assumption that the feeling of restriction is mediated by stress (total effect: b = 0.26; p < 0.001). Conclusion We found evidence that feeling restricted due to COVID-19 government measures is associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms in older adults at increased risk for dementia. The association is mediated by perceived stress. Furthermore, social support was significantly associated with less depressive symptoms. Thus, it is of high relevance to consider possible adverse effects of government measures related to COVID-19 on mental health of older people. 4950 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1141433$xR$3Volltext$534 4950 https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:8:3-2024-00039-9$xR$3Volltext$534 4961 https://macau.uni-kiel.de/receive/macau_mods_00004320 5051 300 5051 610 5550 Aged 5550 Covid-19 5550 COVID-19 5550 Cross-Sectional Studies 5550 Dementia 5550 Depression 5550 Government 5550 Government Measures 5550 Humans 5550 Mental Health 5550 Older People 5550 Primary Health Care 5550 SARS-CoV-2 5550 Social Support 5550 Stress