Social Inequities in the Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown Measures on the Mental Health of a Large Sample of the Colombian Population (PSY-COVID Study)

Abstract

The identification of general population groups particularly vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on mental health and the development of healthcare policies are priority challenges in the current and future pandemics. This study aimed to identify the personal and social determinants of the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on mental health in a large sample of the Colombian population. In this cross-sectional study, an anonymous online survey was answered by 18,061 participants from the general population residing in Colombia during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak (from 20 May to 20 June 2020). The risk of depression, anxiety, and somatization disorders were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-2), and Somatic Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ-5), respectively. Overall, 35% of participants showed risk of depression, 29% of anxiety, and 31% of somatization. According to the analysis of social determinants of health, the most affected groups were people with low incomes, students, and young adults (18–29 years). Specifically, low-income young females were the most at-risk population group. These findings show how the lockdown measures affected the general population’s mental health in Colombia and highlight some social risk factors in health.

Forest bathing and hiking benefits for mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mediterranean regions

“…Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the psychological benefits of FB and other hiking activities in Mediterranean forests, more specifically in the protected areas of the Catalan region, at the north-east of the Iberian peninsula. The study also aimed to facilitate the implementation of FB in Catalan forests during the pandemic among urban populations, whose mental health has been significantly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic (Sanabria-Mazo et al, 2021 ; WHO 2020); finally, it also aimed to replicate a pilot study published during the COVID-19 pandemic exploring the benefits of FB in a Mediterranean-Catalan forest. It reported large increases in positive affect, vigour, friendship and mindfulness and large decreases in negative affect, anxiety, anger, fatigue, tension and depressive mood in sample of 17 healthy adults (Muro et al 2022 ).…”

Predictive factors of the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students: a cross-cultural study in six Ibero-American countries

“…Analytical observational study derived from the PSY-COVID project (Sanabria-Mazo et al, 2021), which was carried out through the dissemination of an anonymous online survey coordinated by the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. It was conducted in 32 countries (13 in the Americas, 11 in Europe, 4 in Asia, and 4 in Africa) and involved the participation of more than 150 international researchers from 56 scientific institutions.…”

“…As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world, an increasing number of studies between 2020 and 2022 reported the global negative psychological impact on the general population (Brooks et al, 2020;Gloster et al, 2020;Sanabria-Mazo et al, 2021). Social distancing and mobility restrictions, with complete lockdowns and quarantines, as measures to contain the spread of the pandemic, forced citizens to stay at home for months The large number of infected patients and deaths, the uncertainty on the future, worry about becoming infected or infecting others, or the disruption of daily routine, became some of the stressors that affected mental health.…”

Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Quality of Life, Mental Health, and Level of Physical Activity in Colombian University Workers: A Longitudinal Study

“…In relation to the evolution of changes in mental and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic, most studies compared data pre pandemic/lockdown [ 26 ], at different times of confinement [ 28 ], and lockdown/post lockdown [ 27 , 29 ]. Additionally, to our knowledge, most studies addressing these issues have been cross-sectional [ 30 ], focused mainly on health care workers [ 31 ], with few longitudinal studies addressing these issues [ 32 ], and no study analyzing together the changes in different variables of mental and physical health in the middle-aged Colombian population pre-pandemic and at different times of the pandemic. COVID-19 represents a new labor challenge worldwide; in addition to the context in which university personnel are found, the work overload that has been worsened by teleworking and other factors have generated deterioration in the quality of life of this population [ 20 ].…”