# Risk of mental disorders and malnutrition in elderly COVID-19 survivors: An observational study

## TL;DR

This study finds that elderly survivors of COVID-19 are at higher risk of mental disorders and malnutrition, with risk increasing with age and severity of symptoms.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific risk factors for mental disorders and malnutrition in elderly COVID-19 survivors using an observational cross-sectional approach.

## Key findings

- Age over 70, severe symptoms, and multi-comorbidity are risk factors for mental disorders in elderly COVID-19 survivors.
- Moderate symptoms and multi-comorbidity are significant risk factors for malnutrition in this population.
- The risk of mental disorders and malnutrition increases with age in elderly survivors of COVID-19.

## Abstract

Background: The incidence rate of COVID-19 is around 11-15% in the elderly. The case fatality rate (CFR) of COVID-19 in the elderly is around 8.9% and increases with age. The risk of mental disorders and malnutrition is increased in COVID-19 survivors. Continuous inflammatory conditions result in a state of hypercatabolism that can disrupt brain neuroendocrine and protein consumption for the formation of acute-phase reactant proteins. Mental disorders and malnutrition can lead to fragility. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of mental disorders and malnutrition in elderly survivors of COVID-19.

Methods: This research was a cross-sectional study. The results of the research on age, disease symptoms, and comorbidities have proven that they are risk factors for mental disorders and malnutrition in elderly COVID-19 survivors. This study used total sampling and included 100 study subjects. The research was conducted in Depok for two months; data was collected directly through shared questionnaires and direct anthropometric measurements. The questionnaires used were the SRQ-20 tool for mental disorder screening and MNA for malnutrition screening.

Results: The risk factors for mental disorders were age over 70 years old OR 3 (CI 1.0-8.8), severe COVID-19 symptoms OR 4.5 (CI 1.2-16.17), and multi-comorbidity OR 2.3 (CI 0.6-8.8). The risk factors for malnutrition were age higher than 70 years old OR 2.5 (CI 0.8-7.9), moderate COVID-19 symptoms OR 6.3 (CI 2.0-19.81), and multi-comorbidity OR 6.6 (CI 1.5-28.5).

Conclusions: Those infected with COVID-19 have a risk of mental disorders and malnutrition, especially in geriatrics, and this risk increases with age.