Depression risk among community-dwelling older people is associated with perceived COVID-19 infection risk: effects of news report latency and focusing on number of infected cases

Awareness of COVID-19 infection risk and oscillation patterns ('waves') may affect older people's mental health. Empirical data from populations experiencing multiple waves of community outbreaks can inform guidance for maintaining mental health. This study aims to investigate the effects of COVID-19 infection risk and oscillations on depression among community-dwelling older people in Hong Kong.

A rolling cross-sectional telephone survey method was used. Screening for depression risk was conducted among 8,163 older people (age ≥ 60) using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) from February to August 2020. The relationships between PHQ-2, COVID-19 infection risk proxies - change in newly infected cases and effective reproductive number (R_t), and oscillations - stage of a 'wave' reported in the media, were analysed using correlation and regression.

8.4% of survey respondents screened positive for depression risk. Being female (β = .08), having a pre-existing mental health issue (β = .21), change in newly infected cases (β = .05), and screening during the latency period before the media called out new waves (β = .03), contributed to higher depression risk (R² = .06, all p <.01).

While depression risk does not appear alarming in this sample, our results highlight that older people are sensitive to reporting of infection, particularly among those with existing mental health needs. Future public health communication should balance awareness of infection risks with mental health protection.