Psychosocial Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Older Adults With and Without Cognitive Impairment: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives: 1) To develop and test the validity of the Psychosocial Pandemic Impact Scale (PPIS); 2) test associations between PPIS scores and demographics/cognitive performance in older adults; 3) answer whether the PPIS scores would differ between cognitively healthy (HOA) or mildly impaired older adults (MCI), and between those assessed before and after vaccines were available in Brazil.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: Community-dwelling older adults registered to participate in a remote randomized clinical trial of computerized cognitive training were assessed online during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.Participants: A sample of 181 older adults (>60 years) was used for the PPIS psychometric analysis, from which 120 who completed baseline cognitive, quality of life, and mood assessments were included in the group comparisons and correlational analysis.Measurements: The psychosocial pandemic impact scale (PPIS); The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA; used as a brief screening tool); The verbal fluency test (to assess executive function) and the Verbal memory and learning with the Portuguese version of the rey auditory verbal learning test (RAVLT); The geriatric anxiety inventory (GAI); The Geriatric Depression Scale -Short Form (GDS); The