Has social isolation during COVID 19 pandemic lead to exacerbation of diabetes mellitus in the elderly and has the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) changes these results?

Niva Kallus, Dr. Alexandra Verzhbitsky, Dr. Sophia Eilat-Tsanani

Keywords: COVID 19, Loneliness, Diabetes Mellitus, information and communication technologies (ICT)

Background:
It is well established that social isolation and loneliness are strong contributing factors to the emergence of new medical and psychological conditions, as well as the exacerbation of existing ones. The recent COVID-19 crisis has arguably increased isolation and loneliness by inflicting social distancing rules and in-home quarantine for long periods.

Research questions:
To evaluate whether an increase in feeling of isolation and loneliness within the elderly population (over age 65 years old) led to exacerbation of existing diabetes mellitus?
To Investigate whether technological proficiency reduces loneliness and thus affect these results?

Method:
Comparison of information in medical records for the period of March 2020 to the end of the year (December 2020), to the same information in that time period in the year 2019. Evaluation of loneliness through analysis of answers of the patients, based on the DeJong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, with added questions regarding the ICT (Information and communication technologies) proficiency of the patients.

Results:

Conclusions:

Points for discussion: