Mental health status of the general population in Japan during the <scp>COVID</scp>‐19 pandemic

Ueda, Michiko; Stickley, Andrew; Sueki, Hajime; Matsubayashi, Tetsuya

doi:10.1111/pcn.13105

Cited by 120 publications

(136 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…We found that the status of mental health among relatively young women (less than 40 years of age) was worse than that of women in other age groups, which may underlie their relatively high suicide rate in 2020. Relatively worse mental health conditions among young and economically vulnerable individuals was also reported in another study, in which other attributes of the respondents were explicitly controlled for (Ueda et al, 2020). In addition, as reported in Table 1, young female workers were more likely to have experienced a job or income loss in recent months compared to any other groups, suggesting adverse economic conditions surrounding some of these young female workers.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Suicide and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

Ueda

Nordstrom

Matsubayashi

2020

Preprint

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Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is an unprecedented public health crisis, but its effect on suicide deaths is little understood. Method: We analyzed data from monthly suicide statistics between January 2017 and August 2020 and online surveys on mental health among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Results: Compared to the last three years (2017-2019), the number of suicide deaths was lower during the initial phase of the pandemic but subsequently exceeded the past trend. By August 2020, the total number of suicides was 7.72% higher than the average number of suicides in the same month of the previous three years. The largest increase was found in suicides by young women (less than 40 years of age), with a 63.1% increase in August 2020 compared to the same month in the past three years. The number of suicides among students and housekeepers in summer months was notably larger in 2020. The survey data indicated that the status of mental health among young women was worse than that of women in other age groups. In addition, young female workers were more likely to have experienced a job or income loss in recent months compared to any other groups, suggesting adverse economic conditions surrounding some of these young female workers. Conclusion: Our results strongly indicate that continuous monitoring of mental health, particularly that of the most vulnerable populations identified in this study, and appropriate suicide prevention efforts are necessary during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Suicide and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

Ueda

Nordstrom

Matsubayashi

2020

Preprint

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“…Several studies, including one in Japan (Ueda et al, 2020), indicate that the general population's mental health may have deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic (Salari et al, 2020); however, the present findings seem to contradict these previous results. Durkheim's theory that increased social integration reduces suicide in society as a whole may provide a possible explanation.…”

Section: Comparison With Previous Studiescontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Individuals whose mental health has deteriorated during the pandemic and those whose suicidal ideation has worsened share many similarities. Mental health during this pandemic is worse among younger people (Ahmed et al, 2020;Salari et al, 2020;Ueda et al, 2020), although older people have a higher mortality rate from COVID-19 infection. Unemployment or precarious employment for self/family also contribute to poor mental health (Cao et al, 2020;Ueda et al, 2020).…”

Section: Comparison With Previous Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicidal ideation: A prospective cohort study

Sueki¹,

Ueda²

2020

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Background: Few studies have examined the effect of pandemics on suicide-related outcomes. Aims: We examined whether suicidal ideation levels among the general population changed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic by tracking individuals between January and April 2020. Method: We used a prospective observational longitudinal design (n = 6,683) to conduct online surveys of the general adult population in Japan before (baseline) and during the pandemic (follow-up). Results: Suicidal ideation levels were significantly lower during than before the pandemic; however, the effect size was small (r = .07). Participants who were younger, with unstable employment, without children, with low income, and receiving psychiatric care were more likely to have higher suicidal ideation levels during the pandemic. Limitations: The dropout rate may have affected the results. COVID-19 cases and deaths in Japan were relatively lower than in other developed countries. Conclusion: Although the short-term impact of COVID-19 on suicidal ideation is limited, relatively young and economically vulnerable individuals are more likely to show exacerbated suicidal ideation during the pandemic.

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“…( Paz et al, 2020 ). A study held in Japan also exposed higher rate of depressive and anxiety symptoms among the economically weak, part time workers and unemployed population, and part-time or provisional workers ( Ueda et al, 2020 ). Zhang, Yang and team found that more than one-third of the Chinese population faced insomnia during this COVID-19 episode ( Zhang et al, 2020 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%