Prevalence of Depression Symptoms in US Adults Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Catherine K. Ettman,Catherine K. Ettman,Salma M Abdalla,Gregory H. Cohen,Gregory H. Cohen,Laura Sampson,Patrick M. Vivier,Sandro Galea +7 more
- Vol. 3, Iss: 9
TLDR
There is a high burden of depression symptoms in the US associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and that this burden falls disproportionately on individuals who are already at increased risk.Abstract:
Importance The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the policies to contain it have been a near ubiquitous exposure in the US with unknown effects on depression symptoms. Objective To estimate the prevalence of and risk factors associated with depression symptoms among US adults during vs before the COVID-19 pandemic. Design, Setting, and Participants This nationally representative survey study used 2 population-based surveys of US adults aged 18 or older. During COVID-19, estimates were derived from the COVID-19 and Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-being study, conducted from March 31, 2020, to April 13, 2020. Before COVID-19 estimates were derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted from 2017 to 2018. Data were analyzed from April 15 to 20, 2020. Exposures The COVID-19 pandemic and outcomes associated with the measures to mitigate it. Main Outcomes and Measures Depression symptoms, defined using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 cutoff of 10 or higher. Categories of depression symptoms were defined as none (score, 0-4), mild (score, 5-9), moderate (score, 10-14), moderately severe (score, 15-19), and severe (score, ≥20). Results A total of 1470 participants completed the COVID-19 and Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-being survey (completion rate, 64.3%), and after removing those with missing data, the final during–COVID-19 sample included 1441 participants (619 participants [43.0%] aged 18-39 years; 723 [50.2%] men; 933 [64.7%] non-Hispanic White). The pre–COVID-19 sample included 5065 participants (1704 participants [37.8%] aged 18-39 years; 2588 [51.4%] women; 1790 [62.9%] non-Hispanic White). Depression symptom prevalence was higher in every category during COVID-19 compared with before (mild: 24.6% [95% CI, 21.8%-27.7%] vs 16.2% [95% CI, 15.1%-17.4%]; moderate: 14.8% [95% CI, 12.6%-17.4%] vs 5.7% [95% CI, 4.8%-6.9%]; moderately severe: 7.9% [95% CI, 6.3%-9.8%] vs 2.1% [95% CI, 1.6%-2.8%]; severe: 5.1% [95% CI, 3.8%-6.9%] vs 0.7% [95% CI, 0.5%-0.9%]). Higher risk of depression symptoms during COVID-19 was associated with having lower income (odds ratio, 2.37 [95% CI, 1.26-4.43]), having less than $5000 in savings (odds ratio, 1.52 [95% CI, 1.02-2.26]), and exposure to more stressors (odds ratio, 3.05 [95% CI, 1.95-4.77]). Conclusions and Relevance These findings suggest that prevalence of depression symptoms in the US was more than 3-fold higher during COVID-19 compared with before the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals with lower social resources, lower economic resources, and greater exposure to stressors (eg, job loss) reported a greater burden of depression symptoms. Post–COVID-19 plans should account for the probable increase in mental illness to come, particularly among at-risk populations.read more
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The association between food insecurity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the association between food insecurity and mental health outcomes among low-income Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that food insecurity caused by the pandemic was associated with increased risk of mental illness.
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Vicarious Racism and Vigilance During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mental Health Implications Among Asian and Black Americans.
David H. Chae,Tiffany Yip,Connor D. Martz,Kara Chung,Jennifer A. Richeson,Anjum Hajat,David S. Curtis,Leoandra Onnie Rogers,Thomas A. LaVeist +8 more
TL;DR: Experiences of vicarious racism as mentioned in this paper have been described as "hearing about racism directed toward one's racial group or racist acts committed against other racial group members" and "vigilance about racial discriminati...
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Association among income loss, financial strain and depressive symptoms during COVID-19: Evidence from two longitudinal studies.
Nimrod Hertz-Palmor,Tyler M. Moore,Doron Gothelf,Grace E. DiDomenico,Idit Dekel,David M. Greenberg,Lily A. Brown,Noam Matalon,Elina Visoki,Lauren K. White,Megan M Himes,Maya Schwartz-Lifshitz,Raz Gross,Ruben C. Gur,Raquel E. Gur,Itai M. Pessach,Ran Barzilay,Ran Barzilay +17 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the associations between pandemic-related income loss with financial strain and mental health trajectories over a 1-month course, in two independent cohorts.
Journal ArticleDOI
Psychological Distress Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Adults in the United Kingdom Based on Coordinated Analyses of 11 Longitudinal Studies
Kisha K Patel,Elaine V. Robertson,Alex S. F. Kwong,Gareth J Griffith,Kathryn Willan,Michael J. Green,Giorgio Di Gessa,Charlotte F Huggins,Eoin McElroy,Ellen J. Thompson,Jane Maddock,Claire L. Niedzwiedz,Morag Henderson,Marcus Richards,Andrew Steptoe,George B. Ploubidis,Bettina Moltrecht,C. Booth,Emla Fitzsimons,Richard J. Silverwood,Praveetha Patalay,David J. Porteous,Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi +22 more
TL;DR: The substantial deterioration in mental health during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic observed in this study highlights the need for improved mental health care provision and broader support to minimize the risk of longer-term mental health consequences and widening health inequalities.
Journal ArticleDOI
Mental Health and Social Contact During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study
TL;DR: Despite rapidly increasing rates of infections and deaths, there are observed decreases in anxiety, loneliness, and COVID-19-related concerns, especially in the first few days, and other mental health variables remained stable, whereas depressive symptoms increased.
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