THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF THE ELDERLY/O IMPACTO DA PANDEMIA DE COVID-19 NA SAUDE MENTAL DOS IDOSOS/EL IMPACTO DE LA PANDEMIA COVID-19 EN LA SALUD MENTAL DE LAS PERSONAS MAYORES

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 had a huge impact on the lives of the population, as they followed protective measures such as social isolation. The elderly population suffered even greater damage, as loneliness developed mental disorders in most of these people. The objective of this study was to identify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the elderly. This is a literature review, with searches for articles available in the MEDLINE and LILACS databases using the descriptors: MENTAL HEALTH, ELDERLY PEOPLE, SOCIAL ISOLATION. There was an initial result of 236 articles, after a filter and exclusion criteria, 4 articles were selected, which addressed the necessary topic about the mental health of the elderly, social distancing, change of routine. The main impacts found in this review that gained greater prominence were related to depression, stress, anxiety, fear of losing loved ones and feelings of loneliness. Keywords: COVID-19; mental health; elderly; social isolation. A pandemia causada pelo COVID-19 gerou um impacto muito grande na vida da populacao, por seguir as medidas de protecao como o isolamento social. A populacao idosa teve danos ainda maiores, pois a solidao desenvolveu transtornos mentais na maioria dessas pessoas. O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar os impactos da pandemia da COVID-19 na saude mental dos idosos. Trata-se de uma revisao da literatura, com buscas de artigos disponiveis na base de dados MEDLINE e LILACS utilizando-se dos descritores: SAUDE MENTAL, IDOSOS, ISOLAMENTO SOCIAL. Teve um resultado inicial de 236 artigos, apos um filtro e criterios de exclusao, foram selecionados 4 artigos, no qual abordavam o tema necessario sobre a saude mental dos idosos, distanciamento social, mudanca de rotina. Os principais impactos encontrados nessa revisao que obtiveram um destaque maior foram relacionados a depressao, estresse, ansiedade, medo da perda de entes queridos e sentimento de solidao. Palavras-chave: COVID-19; saude mental; idosos; isolamento social. La pandemia provocada por el COVID-19 tuvo un enorme impacto en la vida de la poblacion, quienes siguieron medidas de proteccion como el aislamiento social. La poblacion de edad avanzada sufrio danos aun mayores, ya que la soledad desarrollo trastornos mentales en la mayoria de estas personas. El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar los impactos de la pandemia de COVID-19 en la salud mental de las personas mayores. Se trata de una revision de la literatur