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Resilience and perceived stress in cognitively normal older adults during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Author(s) -
Kuppe Madeline K,
Gagliardi Geoffroy,
Gatchel Jennifer R,
Munro Catherine E,
Marshall Gad A,
Sperling Reisa A.,
Amariglio Rebecca E.,
Vannini Patrizia
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.056361
Subject(s) - stressor , perceived stress scale , psychological resilience , psychology , multilevel model , cognition , clinical psychology , dementia , pandemic , gerontology , covid-19 , stress (linguistics) , medicine , disease , psychiatry , social psychology , linguistics , philosophy , machine learning , computer science , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background Psychological resilience, a construct representing a person’s ability to return to their baseline when difficulties occur, can play an important role in determining outcomes in the face of stressors. Resilience is a crucial component to consider during times of prolonged stress, such as experienced during the coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) pandemic, given that chronic stress has been associated with cognitive decline and dementia. Here, we investigated whether psychological resilience modified levels of perceived stress (assessed over 7 months), as well as examined the influence of demographic variables and Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers on this relationship. Method In May‐November 2020 of the COVID‐19 pandemic, 39 cognitively normal participants (mean age=78.38; 53.85% female) in the Harvard Aging Brain Study (HABS) completed questionnaires assessing stress (Perceived Stress Scale, PSS) and resilience (only at baseline; Connor‐Davidson Resilience Scale), higher scores on each measure indicating greater stress and increased resilience, respectively. We used previously collected data to better characterize the cohort, with the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (PACC;mean=0.46, SD=0.79) to assess cognition, and PET imaging data to assess Aß burden. A hierarchical regression model was used to assess whether resilience could predict baseline perceived stress. A separate linear mixed effect model (LME) was used to explore how resilience, time, and their interaction may affect stress. Both models also included age, sex, education, cognition, and Aß status (SUVR>1.324). Result Perceived stress levels were generally low (mean=13.54, SD=8.65, range=0‐35), and did not significantly vary over the study period (p>0.5; mean number of timepoints=3.13). Both models demonstrated a main effect of resilience, such that higher resilience was associated with lower stress levels (p<0.001;Figure 1). Perceived stress was not influenced by demographic factors, cognition or Aß status. No significant interaction was found between resilience and time in predicting stress levels longitudinally. Conclusion Our findings confirm that resilience is critical for coping with stress during the COVID‐19 pandemic, suggesting that resilience could be an important target for potential interventions in the future. Efforts at increasing resilience could not only help support older adults navigating stressful situations, but may also mitigate negative effects of stress on neurocognitive and mental health.