Why are old people in this country happier now than before COVID?
ADVERTISEMENT
Older people in England are happier than ever – or at least happier than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study suggests.
Researchers from University College London (UCL) tracked about 4,000 people ages 50 and up in the country from 2012 to 2023. They used survey data to measure people's happiness, life satisfaction, and eudaemonic well-being – a sense of purpose and meaning in life – as well as depressive symptoms.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, older people's mental well-being declined and depression levels rose in late 2020 with pandemic restrictions in full force, according to the findings, which were published in the journal Aging & Mental Health.
But the scales soon tipped the other way. Older Britons' mental well-being bounced back from late 2021 to 2023, with their life satisfaction and sense of purpose even eclipsing their pre-pandemic levels, the study found.
The findings could 'reflect a renewed appreciation for social connections and meaningful activities, as well as increased psychological resilience after a period of adversity,' Paola Zaninotto, the study's lead author and a professor of medical and social statistics at UCL, said in a statement. How is 'happiness' defined?
Well-being may be subjective, but it's about more than a lack of mental health problems like depression. Researchers think of well-being as a combination of positive feelings like happiness, good relationships, and a sense of purpose and control in life that allow people to thrive.
That may help explain why depression levels did not improve in tandem with mental well-being after the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, 11.4 per cent of older adults experienced significant depressive symptoms, a level that surged to 27.2 per cent in late 2020 and then fell to 14.9 per cent from 2021 to 2023.
The researchers theorised that this could be due to the after-effects of interrupted medical care and other services for older people during the pandemic.
Notably, not everyone reaped the benefits of the post-pandemic mental health boom.
Adults in their 50s and less affluent people reported being worse off than their older and wealthier peers – possibly because their well-being levels were already lower before the pandemic.
After the pandemic, people over 75 also saw smaller improvements in well-being and depression levels, possibly due to 'persistent vulnerabilities' such as health problems, slower mental adaptation to the crisis, and a hit to their social lives, researchers said. Older adults are happier than the young
The disparities underscore the 'importance of tailored support policies for the immediate and lingering effects of pandemics on the well-being of our older population,' Zaninotto said.
The study has some limitations. Nearly all of the participants were white and about half were retired, which means the findings may not reflect the experiences of other groups.
Even so, the findings are in line with previous research that shows life satisfaction has risen slightly in the UK since the early 1980s. ADVERTISEMENT
In 2024, the United Kingdom ranked 20th of 143 countries in the annual World Happiness Report from University of Oxford, which tracks people's life satisfaction.
Older adults may be providing a boost. The UK's older adults are now 'significantly happier than the young,' the 2024 report found, a trend that is mirrored in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Spain, and France.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
4 days ago
- Euronews
EU Commission unlocks health funds but leaves civil society reeling from cuts
The European Commission this week finally unveiled its 2025 work programme for its €571 million health budget, EU4Health—a flagship initiative launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen public health across the bloc. The publication ended months of uncertainty and delay, with deep funding cuts already severely impacting NGOs and civil society groups operating in the health sector. A Commission spokesperson attributed the delay to several factors including the transition to the new Commission that took office in December 2024 and digestion of updated mission letters for commissioners, which came in September last year. The need to adjust for earlier budget reallocations was also cited, notably a €1 billion diversion from EU4Health to support Ukraine, announced in February 2024. But more troubling for health NGOs is what the new programme confirms: a complete elimination of operating grants - funds that support an organisation's core operations - leaving only action grants, which finance specific projects. 'It does not mean that NGOs will not be able to directly participate. It's just that we are doing the funding now differently,' a Commission spokesperson told Euronews, referring to this new focus on action grants rather than operational ones. But for these organisations, what may appear to be a mere bureaucratic adjustment actually represents a significant structural shift, as much of their core work—such as on digital health and air pollution—does not easily fit into isolated, time-limited projects. Civil society left in 'survival mode' The delay to unveiling the work programme left health civil society organisations already unable to plan or secure interim financing, resulting in staff reductions and suspended operations. 'The absence of operating grants has pushed many in our sector into survival mode, especially for us, as a large organisation that has historically relied on them,' Milka Sokolović, director general of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), told Euronews. As one of the largest health-focused civil society groups in Europe, EPHA has been forced to cut its staff by 40% this year due to the uncertainty and reduced funding. It's not alone. EURORDIS, the European organisation representing patients with rare diseases, also criticised the cuts. 'It's deeply regrettable that the EU4Health 2025 Work Programme not only confirms the exclusion of operating grants for health NGOs, but also provides few – if any – alternative funding opportunities for civil society,' said Virginie Bros-Facer, CEO of EURORDIS. "Over the past 20 years, DG SANTE [the Commission's health service] has recognised the value of operating grants as the only funding mechanism that ensures meaningful interaction between civil society and EU institutions," said Florence Berteletti from the European Alcohol Policy Alliance. She added that operating grants represent only a marginal share of the EU health budget—just 1%. With cuts in operating grants, many of these NGOs are expected to struggle to stay afloat, as they will no longer be able to fulfil essential roles. EU, a shrinking space for civil society The funding shortfall comes amid broader concerns that civil society is being sidelined. Right-wing criticism of the Commission's funding of environmental NGOs has created a climate some see as increasingly hostile to non-profit organisations. For Sokolović, the Commission's funding of NGOs exists to balance the influence of wealthier private lobbies. 'It allows us to act as watchdogs for democracy at a time of democratic backsliding. Without it, commercial interests will dominate EU decision-making, unchecked. And I must say — this goes far beyond health,' she said. The other trend is a reduced space for health actions in the EU's priorities compared to the launch of EU4Health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, designed as the EU's first standalone health budget, with €5.3 billion allocated to strengthen the sector. But five years on, and in the absence of core support for NGOs, many are now questioning whether public health remains a true EU priority.
Euronews
22-07-2025
- Euronews
Smartphones lead to ‘suicidal thoughts' in children under 13, study
Children shouldn't have access to smartphones until the age of 13, according to a new global study. Those who used smartphones before they turned 13 were more likely to have suicidal thoughts, bad emotional regulation, lower self-worth, aggression, and detachment from reality, according to the study published in the Journal of the Human Development and Capabilities. Girls were more impacted by smartphone use than boys, with 9.5 per cent of female respondents considered 'struggling' with their mental health compared to 7 per cent of males, irrespective of their country of origin, the research added. Kids under 13 were more likely to experience sleep disruptions, cyberbullying and negative family relationships, the study found. Restrict smartphones like alcohol, researchers say The study drew data from the self-reported mental health profiles of 100,000 young people between the ages of 18-24. The study was conducted by a team from the research non-profit Sapien Labs. The researchers generated an overall "mind health" score for each profile based on 47 social, emotional, cognitive, and physical functions. The mind health scores got worse the longer a child had access to a smartphone, the research continued. For example, the score of a child who received a phone at 13 dropped from 30 to just one for those who received a phone at five years old. The results were worse for the 18-20 year-olds than the 21-24 cohort in the responses, which could be due to prolonged screen exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic, the study said. However, the results of smartphone use in under 13s are consistent despite the geographical and social differences that kids have. Lead author Tara Thiagarajan said she'd like to see smartphones restricted to those under 13 and regulated like alcohol and tobacco by government authorities. The move should be paired with restrictions on social media platforms as well as 'mandating digital literacy education and enforcing corporate accountability'. 'I was initially surprised by how strong the results are,' Thiagarajan said. 'However, when you give it due consideration, it does begin to make sense that the younger developing mind is more compromised by the online environment, given their vulnerability and lack of worldly experience'. What regulations are already in place against cellphones? Most of the bans so far against cellphones are happening in Europe's schools, with partial bans in French, Dutch, British, Italian, Hungarian, Spanish, Irish, Swedish, Belgian, Greek, Latvian, Luxembourgish and Finnish classrooms. Some of these countries, including France, the Netherlands, Italy, Luxembourg and some Spanish regions, have complete school-wide bans on mobile phones so they cannot be used at any point during the day. Other European countries, such as Denmark, Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Portugal, are also considering further restrictions on cellphones. For social media, France's artificial intelligence (AI) minister also proposed a European-wide ban on the use of social media for those under 15 years old. Several EU laws, such as the Digital Service Act, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, and the General Data Protection Regulation, include provisions to shield children from harmful content and protect their data. Last month, EU lawmakers voted to criminalise AI-generated child abuse images, online grooming, livestreaming, sextortion and the age of consent.
Euronews
17-07-2025
- Euronews
Why some countries' healthcare spending is more wasteful than others
Wealthy countries spend trillions of euros on health care every year, but not all of them are getting their money's worth, a new analysis has found. Higher levels of health spending are linked to better outcomes, but after a certain point, more money may not be efficient or practical. The more a country spends on medical care, the more it must pay to continue boosting citizens' health, according to the study published in The Lancet Global Health journal. In countries that spend $100 (€85) per capita on health care, for example, spending another $92 (€79) per person earns them an additional year of healthy life. But in countries that spend $5,000 (€4,272) per capita, another healthy year would cost $11,213 (€9,580). 'Countries around the world have made significant progress in converting dollars into health,' wrote the researchers from the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). 'However, more reductions in inefficiency need to be made in an era of tightening health-care budgets [and] to maximise the returns on their health care spending'. The researchers determined health spending inefficiency by comparing a country's total health spending – including the amount they spend and how they spend it – to the number of years people there can expect to live in good health. The study included 201 countries and territories, and covered a 28-year period from 1995 to 2022. Drivers of efficient and wasteful spending Globally, health spending became more efficient between 1995 and 2019, but this progress was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. While it began to recover in 2022, there are still major 'inefficiency gaps' between countries, the analysis found. The United States spends more per capita on healthcare than any other wealthy country. But its system is not particularly efficient, which costs Americans 6.2 years of healthy life. China was the most efficient country with zero waste, meaning it optimised its spending to deliver the best possible health outcomes for its citizens, according to the analysis. Most European countries were considered fairly efficient. Exceptions included Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, and to a lesser extent, the Netherlands, Belgium, Belarus, Finland, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Beyond their actual budgets, the most efficient countries tended to have better governance, greater uptake of primary care, infrastructure that makes it possible for people to access medical services, and more public spending on health care compared with the private sector. Notably, the study does not take into account health care quality, but rather tracks how well a country scores among those with similar levels of spending. The study authors said policymakers could use the findings to maximise their investments in health, which could be particularly important given many countries are facing pressure on their budgets. 'Expanding government-provided health-care coverage would decrease the inefficiency of the health care system,' the researchers argued. 'Countries should also focus on strengthening democracy, building infrastructure, and increasing the use of, and access to, preventive care,' they added.
