Geriatricians, the elderly must be protected, but no selective lockdown

No lockdown for the elderly only.

The limitation of physical and relational activity has important negative repercussions on their health, including psychic ones.

This was highlighted by the geriatricians, after the announcement of a possible selective lockdown by age group and the publication of the research of the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI).

For Raffaele Antonelli Incalzi, president of the Italian Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics (SIGG) "keeping the elderly confined at home would be too simplistic a choice that does not take into account the dignity of people who would be segregated and not protected" and the freedom of movement could be also contained within the limits of a walk.

    "Allowing the elderly to walk and go out is a lifesaver for many pathologies - underlines Antonelli Incalzi - not only age itself but chronic diseases, more prevalent in old age, condition greater vulnerability to Covid-19.

    Not a few elderly people enjoy of enviable health, just as not a few adults or young people have health undermined by important chronic diseases. Prolonged confinement reduces physical exercise, which is in effect a 'life-saving drug' in the elderly who, already during the previous lockdown have paid a very high price with a 40% increase in deaths from heart attack and stroke ". 

According to geriatricians, more than the fear of contagion in the hospital and, more generally, of the failure of the common assistance procedure, it is much more likely that the lack of physical exercise, which has an anti-inflammatory effect, contributed to it. , improves glucose metabolism, has favorable repercussions on mood and cognitive abilities.

"In patients with dementia - adds Antonelli Incalzi - confinement has dramatic effects, with a marked worsening of symptoms and a greater need for drugs, including antipsychotics. In the elderly, the loss of social contacts increases the risk of depression, and feeling alone that of dementia, disability and death. Intergenerational relationships, on the other hand, lead to a marked improvement in the state of health. Also for this reason, keeping the elderly confined at home would be too simplistic a choice that does not take into account the dignity of people who would be segregated and not protected ".

For the President Sigg, "without prejudice to scrupulous compliance with the individual protection requirements, it seems logical to protect the elderly, not depriving them of freedom of movement but containing them within the limits of the walk, avoiding as much as possible the attendance of crowded places even in the presence of the distancing measures ".