The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with and without depressive, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorders: a longitudinal study of three Dutch case-control cohorts

Pan, Kuan Yu; Kok, Almar A L; Eikelenboom, Merijn; Horsfall, Melany; Jörg, Frederike; Luteijn, Rob A.; Rhebergen, Didi; Oppen, Patricia van; Giltay, Erik J.; Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.

doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30491-0

Cited by 515 publications

(597 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…This is surprising, given that the majority of a sample of UK youth with mental health needs reported that the pandemic made their condition worse, and many mental health support services were unavailable during the pandemic (6). A longitudinal case-control study found that the mental health of patients with a psychiatric disorder remained worse than those without a psychiatric disorder, but that the COVID-19 pandemic did not increase the symptom-severity (41). A possible explanation for the lack of a strong association in our study is that the mental health problems for which they consulted a professional in the last 12 months are rather mild, or that these problems are already treated adequately.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Distress and Its Contributing Factors Among Young People During the First Wave of COVID-19: A Belgian Survey Study

et al. 2021

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Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and its associated measures led to high levels of mental distress in the general population. Previous research indicated that young people are especially vulnerable for a wide range of mental health problems during the pandemic, but little is known about the mechanisms. This study examined mental distress and its contributing factors among young Belgian people.Methods: An online survey was widely distributed in Belgium during the first wave of COVID-19 in March, and 16–25-year-olds were selected as a subsample. Mental distress was assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and a threshold of ≥4 was used to discriminate mental distress cases from non-cases. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate possible predictors of mental distress, including demographics, chronic condition, history of mental health problems, social support, exposure to COVID-19, and several changes in everyday activities.Results: A total of 2,008 respondents were included, of which the majority was female (78.09%) and student (66.82%). The results indicate that about two thirds (65.49%) experienced mental distress. In the multivariable regression model, significant (p < 0.01) predictors of mental distress were female gender (OR = 1.78), low social support (OR = 2.17), loneliness (OR = 5.17), a small (OR = 1.63), or large (OR = 3.08) increase in social media use, a small (OR = 1.63) or large (OR = 2.17) decrease in going out for drinks or food, and a decrease in doing home activities (OR = 2.72).Conclusion: Young people experience high levels of mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings indicate that mental distress was highest among women, those experiencing loneliness or low social support and those whose usual everyday life is most affected. The psychological needs of young people, such as the need for peer interaction, should be more recognized and supported.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Distress and Its Contributing Factors Among Young People During the First Wave of COVID-19: A Belgian Survey Study

et al. 2021

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“…Participants may have associated some of the physical symptoms with a possible SARS-CoV-2 infection. Additionally, the existence of a previous history of mental disorders was associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress [18,[63][64][65][66][67][68]. In this regard, the pandemic and the lockdown may be stressful factors that produce instability in a previous mental condition [69][70][71].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Lockdown and Mental Health in a Sample Population in Spain: The Role of Self-Compassion

Gutiérrez-Hernández

Fanjul

Díaz-Megolla

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Previous data support that mental health is affected during pandemic and lockdown situations. Yet, little is known about the positive factors that protect mental health during a lockdown. This study analyzed mental health status—particularly emotional problems—and the role of several sociodemographic and clinical variables; it also explored whether there is a positive relationship between self-compassion and better mental health status. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Spain with the participation of 917 fluent Spanish-speaking residents in a survey conducted approximately midway through the COVID-19 lockdown. The survey tested for anxiety, depression, and stress using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) to measure self-compassion values, and the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire (PVDQ) to assess the degree of risk perceived by participants. Around 30% of the individuals surveyed (recruited by snowball sampling) showed clinically significant levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. The variables most frequently associated with anxiety, depression, and stress were low levels of self-compassion, age, gender, previous physical symptoms, a previous mental disorder, being a student, and perceived vulnerability to disease. We discuss the hypothetical protective role against anxiety, depression, and stress of certain skills such as self-compassion and the possibility that increasing self-compassion may be used to promote better mental health in similar situations.

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“…Importantly, both hedonic learning and PAS can be actively trained, as has been successfully shown in behavioral activation and related treatment approaches for anhedonia (Craske et al, 2016;Fancourt et al, 2020;Nagy et al, 2020), which can also be delivered remotely (Huguet et al, 2018). As the COVID-19 pandemic impacts mental health (Henssler et al, 2020;Pan et al, 2021;Peters et al, 2020), strengthening state hedonic capacity and hedonic learning combined with PAS may be a preventive strategy that can smoothly be integrated into everyday life. S1.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Globally, the psychological impact of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is closely investigated. Recent studies reported a deterioration of mental health and well-being (Möhring et al, 2021;Pan et al, 2021;Paredes et al, 2021;Patrick et al, 2020;Pierce et al, 2020;Zacher and Rudolph, 2021), high levels of stress (Cooke et al, 2020), as well as increasing anxiety and depression symptoms (Bueno-Notivol et al, 2021;Cénat et al, 2021;Fiorillo et al, 2020;Henssler et al, 2020;McCracken et al, 2020;Pappa et al, 2020;Petzold et al, 2020;Pieh et al, 2020;Prati and Mancini, 2021;Probst et al, 2020). However, less evidence is available for the COVID-19 impact on positive psychological functioning (Prati and Mancini, 2021) or potential mediating effects of positivity with regard to mental health (Veer et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning it the hard way – how enjoying life and positive appraisal buffer the negative effects of stressors on mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic

Daniels¹,

Wellan²,

Walter³

2021

Preprint

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Background. Higher levels of stress and negative emotions such as anxiety and depression have been reported since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it remains less clear how positive emotions, such as hedonic capacity, may be affected. Further, during lockdowns, the ability to learn new pleasurable activities (hedonic learning) may be particularly relevant. Here, we investigated if state hedonia and/or hedonic learning mediated the relationship between COVID-19 stress and mental health. Moreover, we explored whether positive appraisal style (PAS), a major resilience factor, influenced these relationships.Methods. Using a cross-sectional design, 5000 German-speaking participants filled out online questionnaires targeting stressors, mental health, state hedonia, hedonic learning, and PAS between April 9 and May 15, 2020. After confirming the factor structure of our constructs, we applied latent structural equation modeling to test mediation as well as moderated mediation models.Results. Stress showed a positive association with mental health symptoms, which was buffered by both state hedonia and hedonic learning. While higher stress was related to lower state hedonia, participants reported more hedonic learning with greater stressor load. The latter effect was greater for individuals with high PAS.Limitations. The present results should be replicated in longitudinal designs with representative samples to confirm the directionality and generalizability of effects.Conclusions. Both state hedonia and hedonic learning buffered the effect of stress on mental health in an early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning new rewarding activities in combination with a PAS may be especially relevant for maintaining mental health during lockdowns.

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The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with and without depressive, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorders: a longitudinal study of three Dutch case-control cohorts

Cited by 515 publications

References 25 publications

Mental Distress and Its Contributing Factors Among Young People During the First Wave of COVID-19: A Belgian Survey Study

Mental Distress and Its Contributing Factors Among Young People During the First Wave of COVID-19: A Belgian Survey Study

COVID-19 Lockdown and Mental Health in a Sample Population in Spain: The Role of Self-Compassion

Learning it the hard way – how enjoying life and positive appraisal buffer the negative effects of stressors on mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic

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