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Older adults in England have reported elevated levels of happiness, life satisfaction, and purpose compared to pre-pandemic times, according to new research.
Experts suggest that navigating the Covid-19 crisis may have fostered a renewed appreciation for social connections and meaningful activities for the older generation.
The findings come from an analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, which tracks the wellbeing of individuals aged 50 and over.
While the study reveals a positive shift in overall wellbeing, researchers also noted that depression rates remain slightly higher than pre-2020 levels.
This suggests a complex picture of post-pandemic mental health among older adults, with increased happiness and purpose coexisting alongside lingering mental health challenges.
Figures from 3,999 people show that self reported ratings for happiness; eudaemonic wellbeing – which measures whether a life feels worthwhile; and life satisfaction all plummeted during the pandemic.
But they found that all aspects of positive wellbeing improved in a statistically significant way post-pandemic.
And measures tracking eudaemonic wellbeing and life satisfaction were significantly higher than before the pandemic.
By contrast, levels of depression among the group have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Some 11.4 per cent reported depressive symptoms before Covid-19 and during the pandemic this short up to 27.2 per cent in late 2020.
But the latest measures show that post-pandemic levels of depression fell to 14.9 per cent among the group studied, according to the study which has been published in the journal Aging and Mental Health.
“Our research showed that the pandemic had a profound effect on the well-being of older people in England,” said study lead author Paola Zaninotto, professor of medical and social statistics at UCL’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health.
“As many would expect, we found that well-being declined during the pandemic, and instances of depression rose.
“While depression is still slightly more prevalent than before 2020, remarkably, overall older people are now happier, more satisfied and have a greater sense of purpose than before the pandemic.
“We can only speculate on the reasons for this. It perhaps could reflect a renewed appreciation for social connections and meaningful activities, as well as increased psychological resilience after a period of adversity.
“Improved health security following widespread vaccinations could also have contributed to this positive shift.
“We saw marked differences by age and affluence, underscoring the importance of tailored support policies for the immediate and lingering effects of pandemics on the well-being of our older population.”
Figures from the Office for National Statistics’ National Wellbeing Dashboard show that between July and September 2024, around one in 20 (4.7 per cent) of UK adults report they have low levels of satisfaction with their lives.
A smaller proportion (3.6 per cent) gave a rating of “low” when asked how worthwhile they feel the things they do in life are.
Meanwhile, 7.7 per cent rated their happiness the previous day as “low”.
More adults in the UK reported feeling “high anxiety yesterday” in July to September 2024 (22.5 per cent) compared to July to September 2019 (20.4 per cent).
And the proportion of adults in the UK reporting some evidence of depression or anxiety has increased in the long term, according to the ONS.
Some 22.6 per cent reported some evidence of depression or anxiety in 2022 to 2023, compared to 19.7 per cent in 2017 to 2018.
