A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies comparing mental health before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020

Resilience and mental health.

Given the role of human behavior in the spread of disease, it is vital to understand what drives people to engage in or refrain from health-related behaviors during a pandemic. This paper examines factors associated with the adoption of self-protective health behaviors, such as social distancing and mask wearing, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the USA. These behaviors not only reduce an individual's own risk of infection but also limit the spread of disease to others. Despite these dual benefits, universal adoption of these behaviors is not assured. We focus on the role of socioeconomic differences in explaining behavior, relying on data collected in April 2020 during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. The data include information on income, gender and race along with unique variables relevant to the current pandemic, such as work arrangements and housing quality. We find that higher income is associated with larger changes in self-protective behaviors. These gradients are partially explained by the fact that people with less income are more likely to report circumstances that make adopting self-protective behaviors more difficult, such as an inability to tele-work. Both in the USA and elsewhere, policies that assume universal compliance with self-protective measures-or that otherwise do not account for socioeconomic differences in the costs of doing so-are unlikely to be effective or sustainable.

/pdf/socio-demographic-factors-associated-with-self-protecting-2dwjazuywy.pdf

Socio-demographic factors associated with self-protecting behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemic repercussions on plastic and antiviral polymeric textile causing pollution on beaches and coasts of South America.

Using a longitudinal dataset linking biometric and survey data from several cohorts of young adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic ([Formula: see text]), we document large disruptions to physical activity, sleep, time use, and mental health. At the onset of the pandemic, average steps decline from 10,000 to 4,600 steps per day, sleep increases by 25 to 30 min per night, time spent socializing declines by over half to less than 30 min, and screen time more than doubles to over 5 h per day. Over the course of the pandemic from March to July 2020 the proportion of participants at risk for clinical depression ranges from 46% to 61%, up to a 90% increase in depression rates compared to the same population just prior to the pandemic. Our analyses suggest that disruption to physical activity is a leading risk factor for depression during the pandemic. However, restoration of those habits through a short-term intervention does not meaningfully improve mental well-being.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/118/9/e2016632118.full.pdf

Lifestyle and mental health disruptions during COVID-19.

Sanitation and hygiene practices to limit the spread of COVID-19 require ample water supply, and communities with poor or untrusted residential water infrastructure rely on bottled water retrieved from outside the home. Thus ability to adhere to sanitation and shelter-in-place recommendations may be limited for households lacking a safe, reliable, and trustworthy piped water source. Consistent with this hypothesis, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has grown faster in counties with lower-quality residential water infrastructure. These findings suggest that, in the short run, distribution of potable water to water-poor households may help slow the spread of COVID-19 or ameliorate community health consequences, and in the long run, investment in residential water infrastructure may increase resilience to future pandemics.

Residential Water Quality and the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States

COVID-19 has affected daily life in unprecedented ways. Using a longitudinal dataset linking biometric and survey data from several cohorts of young adults before and during the pandemic (N=685), we document large disruptions to physical activity, sleep, time use, and mental health. At the onset of the pandemic, average steps decline from 9,400 to 4,600 steps per day, sleep increases by about 25-30 minutes per night, time spent socializing declines by over half to less than 30 minutes, and screen time more than doubles to over 5 hours per day. The proportion of participants at risk of clinical depression increases to 65%, over twice the rate in the same population prior to the pandemic. Our analyses suggest that disruption to physical activity is a leading risk factor for depression during the pandemic. However, restoration of those habits–either naturally or through policy intervention–has limited impact on restoring mental well-being.

Lifestyle and Mental Health Disruptions during COVID-19

COVID-19 has affected daily life in unprecedented ways. Using a longitudinal dataset linking biometric and survey data from several cohorts of young adults before and during the pandemic (N=685), we document large disruptions to physical activity, sleep, time use, and mental health. At the onset of the pandemic, average steps decline from 9,400 to 4,600 steps per day, sleep increases by about 25-30 minutes per night, time spent socializing declines by over half to less than 30 minutes, and screen time more than doubles to over 5 hours per day. The proportion of participants at risk of clinical depression increases to 65%, over twice the rate in the same population prior to the pandemic. Our analyses suggest that disruption to physical activity is a leading risk factor for depression during the pandemic. However, restoration of those habits - either naturally or through policy intervention - has limited impact on restoring mental well-being.

/pdf/lifestyle-and-mental-health-disruptions-during-covid-19-30ez6bls96.pdf

Kelly Hyde

Papers

Lifestyle and mental health disruptions during COVID-19.

Residential Water Quality and the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States

Lifestyle and Mental Health Disruptions during COVID-19

Lifestyle and Mental Health Disruptions During COVID-19

Ideology, Health, and Race: Evidence from Municipalities