The experience of older people with multimorbidity during the COVID-19 pandemic

The risk of severe COVID-19 disease is known to be higher in older individuals with multiple long-term health conditions (multimorbidity). In this briefing, we report the latest findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing COVID-19 Substudy on the experiences of older people with multimorbidity during the pandemic. Not all people with multimorbidity would be classified as clinically vulnerable. We found that 35% of older individuals with multimorbidity were instructed by the NHS or their GP to shield (staying at home at all times and avoiding any face-to-face contact) on account of their vulnerability, and the majority were largely compliant with this advice. Relative to study members without multimorbidity, respondents with multimorbidity were more likely to report poor sleep quality, eating less, and being worried about not having enough food and other essentials. Unhealthy behaviours (sitting time, physical inactivity etc), poor mental health, and loneliness deteriorated considerably during the lockdown and in the two months following the lockdown. Access to medications among people with multimorbidity was not a problem, however, a fifth of individuals with multimorbidity did not have access to community health, social care services and support from other health professionals (e.g., dentist, podiatrist). When considering policies which advise people to shield or self-isolate because of their COVID-19 risk, it is important for policymakers to acknowledge that older people with multiple long-term health conditions are at higher risk of experiencing greater mental distress and worry, of engaging in unhealthy behaviours and are less likely to access health services when needed; all these factors together could potentially influence disease progression