Evidence mapPaperPMID 40969700Full record

ArticleFrontiers in psychiatry2025

Resilience to depression and unchanged quality of life in Sardinian old adults during COVID-19 lockdown.

Giulia Cossu, Michela Atzeni, Elisa Cantone, Viviana Forte, Massimo Tusconi, Goce Kalcev, Alberto Maleci, Roberta Montisci, Caterina Ferreli, Laura Atzori and 5 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03858114 (Active Ageing and Health), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03858114 nacompletednot on this map

Active Ageing and Health

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of CagliariRan2019 to 2020Enrolled140ConditionsAging, Chronic Disease, Cognitive Decline, Quality of LifeArmsMild-to-moderate physical activity, Cultural group program
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Giulia CossuDepartment of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Michela AtzeniDepartment of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Elisa CantoneDepartment of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Viviana ForteDepartment of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Massimo TusconiUniversity Hospital of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Goce KalcevUniversity Hospital of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Alberto MaleciDepartment of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Roberta MontisciDepartment of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Caterina FerreliDepartment of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Laura AtzoriDepartment of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Diego PrimaveraDepartment of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Serdar M DursunNeurochemical Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Fabrizio BertDepartment of Public Health and Pediatrics Sciences, University of Torino, Torino, Italy.
Enzo TramontanoDepartment of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Mauro Giovanni CartaDepartment of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Older adults were expected to be particularly vulnerable to depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown due to social isolation, disruption of daily rhythms, and higher mortality risk. However, some studies have reported unexpected resilience in this population. This study aimed to assess resilience, operationalized as stability in depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life (H-QoL), before and during lockdown among older adults in Sardinia, Italy. Methods: We conducted a cohort follow-up study including community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years, originally enrolled in a randomized controlled trial promoting active aging. Participants were assessed at baseline (March-April 2019) and during lockdown (March-April 2020) using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). Three groups were analyzed: 1. Study cohort, same participants assessed before and during lockdown (pre-post comparison). 2. National matched sample, extracted from a large Italian epidemiological survey, matched by age and sex, for comparison of SF-12 scores. 3. Regional matched sample, extracted from a Sardinian epidemiological survey, matched by age and sex, for comparison of PHQ-9 prevalence rates. Statistical analyses included ANOVA for continuous variables and Chi-square tests for proportions. Results: Ninety-three older adults (mean age 73.4 ± 5 years; 53.8% female) were included in the study cohort. No significant differences were found in SF-12 scores between baseline and lockdown (35.7 ± 4.5 vs. 34.3 ± 6.4; F (1,84) = 2.999, p = 0.085) or in PHQ-9 scores (2.3 ± 3.0 vs. 2.3 ± 3.5; F (1,84) = 0.035, p = 0.851). The proportion of participants with moderate/severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥10) showed a non-significant increase (3.2% vs. 6.5%; p = 0.305). Comparisons with the national and regional matched samples also revealed no statistically significant differences. Discussion: Older adults in Sardinia demonstrated resilience during lockdown, maintaining stable levels of depressive symptoms and quality of life. Potential protective factors include strong family networks, maintenance of daily rhythms, and limited digital overexposure. These findings align with reports from other Western countries and warrant further research into cultural and social determinants of resilience in aging populations during crises. Clinical trial number: NCT03858114.

Indexed as

agingCOVID-19depressive symptomslockdownmental healtholder adultsresilience

Identifiers

PMID40969700
PMCPMC12440868

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.