Associations of online religious participation during COVID-19 lockdown with subsequent health and well-being among UK adults.

BACKGROUND: In-person religious service attendance has been linked to favorable health and well-being outcomes. However, little research has examined whether online religious participation improves these outcomes, especially when in-person attendance is suspended. METHODS: Using longitudinal data of 8951 UK adults, this study prospectively examined the association between frequency of online religious participation during the stringent lockdown in the UK (23 March -13 May 2020) and 21 indicators of psychological well-being, social well-being, pro-social/altruistic behaviors, psychological distress, and health behaviors. All analyses adjusted for baseline socio-demographic characteristics, pre-pandemic in-person religious service attendance, and prior values of the outcome variables whenever data were available. Bonferroni correction was used to correct for multiple testing. RESULTS: Individuals with online religious participation of ≥1/week (v. those with no participation at all) during the lockdown had a lower prevalence of thoughts of self-harm in week 20 (odds ratio 0.24; 95% CI 0.09-0.62). Online religious participation of <1/week (v. no participation) was associated with higher life satisfaction (standardized ß = 0.25; 0.11-0.39) and happiness (standardized ß = 0.25; 0.08-0.42). However, there was little evidence for the associations between online religious participation and all other outcomes (e.g. depressive symptoms and anxiety). CONCLUSIONS: There was evidence that online religious participation during the lockdown was associated with some subsequent health and well-being outcomes. Future studies should examine mechanisms underlying the inconsistent results for online v. in-person religious service attendance and also use data from non-pandemic situations.

Can Online Communication Prevent Depression Among Older People? A Longitudinal Analysis.

Evidence on the association between internet usage and incidence of depression remains mixed. We examined the associations between different categories of internet usage and developing clinical depression. We used data from the 2013 and 2016 waves of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) comprising 12,333 physically and cognitively independent adults aged ≥65 years. Participants were engaged in seven categories of internet usage: communication with friends/family, social media, information collection about health/medicine, searching for medical facilities, purchase of drugs and vitamins, shopping, and banking. We found that internet use for communication had a protective influence on the probability of developing clinical depression defined as the Geriatric Depression Scale scores ≥5 or self-reported diagnosed depression. Our findings support the role of online communication with friends/family in preventing clinical depression among older people. Online communication could be particularly useful in the COVID-19 crisis because many families are geographically dispersed and/or socially distanced.

Association between early intensive care or coronary care unit admission and post-discharge performance of activities of daily living in patients with acute decompensated heart failure.

The management of acute decompensated heart failure often requires intensive care. However, the effects of early intensive care unit/coronary care unit admission on activities of daily living (ADL) in acute decompensated heart failure patients have not been precisely evaluated. Thus, we retrospectively assessed the association between early intensive care unit admission and post-discharge ADL performance in these patients. Acute decompensated heart failure patients (New York Heart Association I-III) admitted on emergency between April 1, 2014, and December 31, 2018, were selected from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database and divided into intensive care unit/coronary care unit (ICU) and general ward (GW) groups according to the hospitalization type on admission day 1. The propensity score was calculated to create matched cohorts where admission style (intensive care unit/coronary care unit admission) was independent of measured baseline confounding factors, including ADL at admission. The primary outcome was ADL performance level at discharge (post-ADL) defined according to the Barthel index. Secondary outcomes included length of stay and total hospitalization cost (expense). Overall, 12231 patients were eligible, and propensity score matching created 2985 pairs. After matching, post-ADL was significantly higher in the ICU group than in the GW group [mean (standard deviation), GW vs. ICU: 71.5 (35.3) vs. 78.2 (31.2) points, P<0.001; mean difference: 6.7 (95% confidence interval, 5.1-8.4) points]. After matching, length of stay was significantly shorter and expenses were significantly higher in the ICU group than in the GW group. Stratified analysis showed that the patients with low ADL at admission (Barthel index score <60) were the most benefited from early intensive care unit/coronary care unit admission. Thus, early intensive care unit/coronary care unit admission was associated with improved post-ADL in patients with emergency acute decompensated heart failure admission.