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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
COVID-19-Related Anxiety and Cognition in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Examining Sex as a Moderator
Contributor:
Curtis, Ashley F.;
Schmiedeler, Anthony;
Musich, Madison;
Connell, Maggie;
Miller, Mary Beth;
McCrae, Christina S.
imprint:
SAGE Publications, 2023
Published in:Psychological Reports
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1177/00332941211064820
ISSN:
0033-2941;
1558-691X
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
<jats:p> Aging populations experience disproportionate risk for cognitive decline, which may be exacerbated by coronavirus (COVID-19) illness, particularly among women. This study tested sex as a moderator of associations between COVID-19 state anxiety and cognition in middle-aged/older adults. Adults aged 50+ ( N = 275; 151 men/124 women) completed the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale and Cognitive Failures Questionnaire online from remote locations in July/August 2020. A subset of participants ( n = 62) completed an objective cognitive task (Stroop). Multiple regressions determined whether sex moderated associations between COVID-19 anxiety and cognitive outcomes. Sex was a significant moderator, such that for women (not men), greater COVID-19 anxiety was associated with more memory failures and blunders (subjective measures) and worse processing speed (objective measure). COVID-19 state anxiety is linked to everyday cognition and processing speed in women, but not men. Consistency across subjective and objective measures promotes the need for sex-specific understanding of the pandemic’s behavioral and cognitive effects in mid-to-late life. </jats:p>