Longitudinal studies investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health across different age groups

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the abstract and stated research gap and limitations section and stated challenges of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2021 and 2025, spanning 3 journals. Those papers have been cited 69 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 4 representative gaps

• The effect of anxiety levels of elderly people in quarantine on depression during covid-19 pandemic (2021) · Social Work in Public Health · cited 52× · doi

  The anxiety levels of the elderly who were 65-74 years old, female, single; had insufficient knowledge about the pandemic; and had not encountered a similar outbreak before considered that family relationships were affected negatively so they became lonely and reported that they became bored, exhausted, and distressed during the pandemic, which increased their depression levels.

  generalabstractevidence 5/5
  Keywords: levels pandemic became anxiety elderly years female single insufficient knowledge encountered similar outbreak considered family
• Depression, Anxiety, Resilience, and Family Functioning Among Different Age Groups During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A One-Year Longitudinal Study (2025) · Healthcare · cited 3× · doi

  There is a lack of longitudinal studies investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health across different age groups. Prior studies have not assessed the psychosocial effects of the pandemic comparatively across different age groups. There is a need to identify age-specific vulnerabilities and inform targeted mental health interventions.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: there lack longitudinal studies investigating impact covid-19 pandemic
• Network Analysis of Depressive Symptoms and Meaning in Life and Their Association with Health-Related Quality of Life Among South Korean Older Adults (2025) · Healthcare · cited 5× · doi

  the findings may not be generalizable to institutionalized older adults or those living in rural regions, - caution is needed when applying these findings to older adults in other countries, - data collection was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which limits the generalizability of our findings to the post-pandemic period, - the present study's cross-sectional design limits causal inference, - caution is warranted when interpreting node centralities, - the CES-D-10 does not cover the full range of geriatric depressive symptoms, - the present study relied on self-administered measures, which may introduce recall and reporting biases

  generallimitations sectionevidence 5/5
  Keywords: findings generalizable institutionalized older adults living rural regions
• Internet Usage, Social Participation, and Depression Symptoms Among Middle-Aged and Older Adult Chinese Individuals Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Observational Study (2025) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · cited 9× · doi

  The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted traditional forms of social participation, leading to increased depression symptoms among older adults. The study faces challenges in measuring the impact of internet usage on depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults before and during the pandemic. The study needs to account for the heterogeneity in the association between internet usage and depressive symptoms among different subgroups.

  generalstated challengesevidence 5/5
  Keywords: covid-19 pandemic has disrupted traditional forms social participation

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