Do social support availability, social isolation, inflammation, and cognitive function affect COVID-19 behavioural and health outcomes?

Our approved CLSA project examines whether social support availability and social isolation affect cognitive function in middle- and older-aged adults. Social support availability is the extent to which individuals may draw upon other persons (family members, friends, neighbours, etc.) and communities (schools, churches, etc.) for help, care, and comfort in times of need. Social isolation is the absence of social relationships. Cognitive function involves the mental processes (for example, memory, reasoning, planning) that allow people to function in life. Inflammation, a new addition to our work, is the human body’s response to injury or disease. We will use the COVID-19 data to examine whether levels of cognitive function, inflammation, social support availability, and social isolation affect coronavirus-related health outcomes.