**1. Introduction**

A series of cases of pneumonia of an unknown cause appeared at the end of 2019 in the Chinese province of Wuhan [1]. Several weeks later, in January 2020, the analysis of lab samples revealed a new virus, SARS-CoV-2, that induces an acute respiratory disease [2] which, on 11 February 2020, was referred to as COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General, while on 11 March 2020, the WHO announced the pandemic [3].

On 27 July 2021, the number of all identified coronavirus infections in the world reached 194,995,684, of which 4,173,104 patients died due to the infection [4].

Fear of infection with SARS-CoV-2 has become widespread. It is constantly being enhanced by the media reports, where particular emphasis is put on the epidemiological data on mortality and incidence, dramatic information from intensive care units, and news about lacking healthcare resources. An additional factor that increases perceived anxiety is the so-called social distancing principle, which entails restrictions in interpersonal contact [5–7]. The estimated overall prevalence of anxiety in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic is 25% [8]. In specific groups, the prevalence of fear of COVID-19 is varied, for example among medical students [9] and healthcare professionals [10] is also 25%, but among college students—36% [11].

All over the world, since the very beginning of the pandemic, older adults have been considered one of the groups at highest risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and death due to COVID-19 [12]. The increased risk of contracting the disease and death depends on several factors. Firstly, Poland is one of the top European countries in terms of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. As of 27 July 2021, there have been 2,882,327 cases, of which 75,249 were fatal [13]. Moreover, the prevalence of chronic diseases, entailing multimorbidity, is high amongst the older adults all over the world, including in Poland, which increases the risk of severe health-related sequelae, including those related to COVID-19 [14]. The prevalence of multimorbidity in Poland is 38.7% [15].

Although, in principle, COVID-19 may evoke considerable fear among the older adults, there are no sufficient data about the perceived fear resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Poland, especially amongst actively ageing older people. The aim of the study was therefore to evaluate the severity of anxiety symptoms related to COVID-19 among the older adults who are participants of the Universities of the Third Age in Poland. In addition, it was evaluated how selected sociodemographic characteristics affect the level of anxiety symptoms in this subgroup of the older population from Poland. It was assumed that the level of anxiety symptoms among participants of the University of the Third Age will be relatively high. Additionally, we hypothesized that anxiety disorders related to the fear of COVID-19 would occur more frequently among women, single people, and people with lower education.
