COVID-19 Study

In June 2020, just after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, an extra assessment was added in between the 2018-2019 (Wave J) and 2021-2022 (Wave K) measurement cycles of LASA. This assessment was added to be able to capture the effects of the COVID-19 situation on daily lives of older adults. This extra assessment consisted of a postal questionnaire with measures that assess the impact of the COVID-19 situation, as well as a selection of measures from regular LASA measurement cycles covering multiple domains of functioning.

The LASA COVID-19 questionnaire was sent to LASA participants on June 8, 2020, and data were received between June 9, 2020 and October 8, 2020. Of 1701 LASA respondents that were participating in the last measurement cycle (Wave J, 2018-2019), 1485 respondents were selected. Respondents that were not selected (n = 216), already had died (n= 61) or were purposely not selected (n = 155, people for whom the questionnaire was expected to be too much of a burden). The respondents received a questionnaire by postal mail. The questionnaire could also be filled out online, or in exceptional cases in a telephone interview. Of the 1485 LASA participants who were approached, 1128 (76%) participated. Registration modes were as follows: written questionnaire (n= 909), digital questionnaire (n = 198), and telephone interview (n = 21). In Spring 2021, a second LASA COVID-19 questionnaire will be sent out (more information will follow in the future).

More information on the LASA COVID-19 Study can be found in this publication:

Hoogendijk, E.O., van der Horst, M.H.L., Poppelaars, J., van Vliet, M., & Huisman, M. (2021). Multiple domains of functioning in older adults during the pandemic: Design and basic characteristics of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam COVID-19 questionnaire. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. DOI: 10.1007/s40520-021-01829-8 (OPEN ACCESS)