The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on treatment‐seeking veterans in the United Kingdom with preexisting mental health difficulties: A longitudinal study

Abstract

Individuals with preexisting psychological difficulties are at risk of further deterioration of their mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. This longitudinal study, conducted during the period between two national lockdowns, aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on veterans in the United Kingdom with preexisting mental health difficulties. Treatment-seeking veterans with preexisting mental health difficulties (N = 95) were surveyed in two waves. Wave 1 was conducted at the end of the first lockdown (June 2020-July 2020), and Wave 2 took place during the second lockdown (November 2020).Participants completed measures to assess symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); common mental health difficulties (CMDs), including anxiety and depression; anger; and alcohol use. Initial analyses revealed no significant changes in symptoms of PTSD, CMDs, anger, or alcohol use between the lockdowns, ps = .247-.986. However, veterans who experienced more COVID-19related stressors were more likely to experience increases in PTSD, odds ratio (OR) = 6.30, p = .002, and CMD symptoms, OR = 4.32, p = .025. Participants 330

A prospective study revealing a compounded burden of COVID-19, sex, and clinical diagnosis of alcohol use disorder and HIV infection on quality of life, anxiety, and alcohol use

“…Specifically, the clinical and control women and the clinical men (but not the control men) reported an increase in anxiety-related symptoms during COVID relative to before COVID. Increased anxiety symptoms during the pandemic was previously reported in longitudinal studies of community samples ( Huckins et al, 2020 ; Wang, C. et al, 2020 ) and was described as particularly relevant in women ( Gopal et al, 2020 ); however, available findings in clinical samples lacked consistency regarding potential changes in anxiety related to the pandemic ( Hendrikx et al, 2021 ; Tundo et al, 2021 ). Here, by using change scores computed from data collected before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the first lockdown, we underscore higher levels of anxiety symptoms during the pandemic among clinical groups with AUD or HIV and specific difficulties in women.…”

“…Longitudinal investigations on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals with pre-existing neuropsychiatric conditions are emerging. In a study of veterans in the UK (n = 95) with various mental health difficulties, those who experienced more COVID-related stressors were more likely to experience increases in PTSD and common mental health symptoms including anxiety and depression ( Hendrikx et al, 2021 ). Similar results emerged among patients with an Axis-I Anxiety diagnosis, whose symptoms worsened modestly during the early phases of the pandemic ( Tundo et al, 2021 ).…”

PTSD Symptoms and Coping with COVID-19 Pandemic among Treatment-Seeking Veterans: Prospective Cohort Study

“…In a nationally representative sample of US military veterans, the prevalence of major depressive disorder and PTSD positive screens remained stable while the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder positive screens increased [ 10 ] and the rate of suicidal ideation decreased nearly 10 months into the pandemic [ 9 ]. Regarding the mental health among treatment-seeking veterans with pre-existing mental health difficulties, the UK study revealed no significant changes in symptoms of PTSD during the pandemic [ 11 ] and a study conducted in Croatia revealed a decrease in PTSD symptoms during the onset of the pandemic as compared to the measurement a year before [ 12 ]. PTSD symptoms and particularly avoidance symptoms may have reduced because of the restrictive measures that prevented greater extent of exposure to reminders of trauma in everyday life.…”

“…Among veterans with an increased level of mental health suffering, different COVID-related stressors appeared to be the strongest risk factors for increased suicidality [ 9 ], increased distress [ 10 ], common mental disorders, and hazardous drinking [ 32 ]. In treatment-seeking veterans, those who reported more COVID-related stressors and lower levels of social support may have been particularly vulnerable to an increasing severity of a range of mental health difficulties [ 11 , 33 ]. The results of this study indicating no correlation of PTSD symptom level with COVID-related PTE and non-PTE can be explained by a lower potential of COVID-related stressful experiences worsening PTSD symptoms because they differ from the central negative traumatic events (war-related criterion A) [ 12 , 29 ].…”

“…However, these studies also showed that the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder increased and the prevalence of major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remained stable during the pandemic [ 10 ]. A recent longitudinal study, conducted during the period between two lockdowns among treatment-seeking veterans with pre-existing mental health difficulties in the UK, did not find any significant changes in symptoms of PTSD, common mental health disorders, anger, or alcohol use between the lockdowns [ 11 ]. A study that compared prepandemic and peripandemic levels of PTSD symptoms among Croatian treatment-seeking veterans with pre-existing PTSD demonstrated a reduction in PTSD symptom levels during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic [ 12 ].…”