Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in two longitudinal UK population cohorts

The COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation measures are likely to have a marked effect on mental health. It is important to use longitudinal data to improve inferences. To quantify the prevalence of depression, anxiety and mental well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, to identify groups...

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Published in:British journal of psychiatry Vol. 218; no. 6; pp. 334 - 343
Main Authors: Kwong, Alex S. F., Pearson, Rebecca M., Adams, Mark J., Northstone, Kate, Tilling, Kate, Smith, Daniel, Fawns-Ritchie, Chloe, Bould, Helen, Warne, Naomi, Zammit, Stanley, Gunnell, David J., Moran, Paul A., Micali, Nadia, Reichenberg, Abraham, Hickman, Matthew, Rai, Dheeraj, Haworth, Simon, Campbell, Archie, Altschul, Drew, Flaig, Robin, McIntosh, Andrew M., Lawlor, Deborah A., Porteous, David, Timpson, Nicholas J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.06.2021
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adversity
Age
Anxiety
Anxiety disorders
Asthma
At risk populations
Child
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Emotions
Ethics
Families & family life
Female
Generalized anxiety disorder
Health planning
Health status
Humans
Indexes
Longitudinal Studies
Medical research
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental Health
Middle Aged
Mitigation
Mood
Obesity
Pandemics
Parent-child relations
Parents & parenting
Psychiatry
Questionnaires
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Sociodemographics
United Kingdom - epidemiology
Well being
Young women
Youth
United Kingdom
United Kingdom > UK
Scotland
COVID-19
ALSPAC
anxiety disorders
depressive disorders
generation Scotland
ISSN:0007-1250, 1472-1465, 1472-1465
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation measures are likely to have a marked effect on mental health. It is important to use longitudinal data to improve inferences. To quantify the prevalence of depression, anxiety and mental well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, to identify groups at risk of depression and/or anxiety during the pandemic. Data were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) index generation (n = 2850, mean age 28 years) and parent generation (n = 3720, mean age 59 years), and Generation Scotland (n = 4233, mean age 59 years). Depression was measured with the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire in ALSPAC and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 in Generation Scotland. Anxiety and mental well-being were measured with the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment-7 and the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. Depression during the pandemic was similar to pre-pandemic levels in the ALSPAC index generation, but those experiencing anxiety had almost doubled, at 24% (95% CI 23-26%) compared with a pre-pandemic level of 13% (95% CI 12-14%). In both studies, anxiety and depression during the pandemic was greater in younger members, women, those with pre-existing mental/physical health conditions and individuals in socioeconomic adversity, even when controlling for pre-pandemic anxiety and depression. These results provide evidence for increased anxiety in young people that is coincident with the pandemic. Specific groups are at elevated risk of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is important for planning current mental health provisions and for long-term impact beyond this pandemic.
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These authors contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465
1472-1465
DOI:10.1192/bjp.2020.242