Trajectories of Mental Distress Among U.S. Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Riehm, Kira E.; Holingue, Calliope; Smail, Emily; Kapteyn, Arie; Bennett, Daniel; Thrul, Johannes; Kreuter, Frauke; McGinty, Emma E.; Kalb, Luther G.; Veldhuis, Cindy B.; Johnson, Renee M.; Fallin, M. Daniele; Stuart, Elizabeth A.

doi:10.1093/abm/kaaa126

Cited by 90 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…These findings are, for the most part, consistent with a large body of evidence highlighting similar or lower prevalence of mental health conditions among racial/ethnic minority groups compared to non-Hispanic white individuals pre-pandemic ( Holzer III and Copeland, 2013 ), despite greater experience of adversity ( Riehm et al., 2021 a). The lower odds of distress among Black compared to white respondents in this study are also consistent with results from a recent longitudinal study of mental distress using Understanding America Study data from March to August 2020 ( Riehm et al., 2021 b).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

An examination of racial and ethnic disparities in mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. South

Goldmann

Hagen

Khoury

et al. 2021

Journal of Affective Disorders

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Background The mental health of racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States may be disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic due to greater experience of peri-pandemic stressors. Yet, few studies have systematically examined racial/ethnic differences in mental health outcomes in this context. Methods Data came from the COVID-19 Southern Cities Study, a probability-based, cross-sectional study conducted in May/June 2020 among adults living in the metropolitan statistical areas of Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, and New Orleans. Unadjusted and adjusted associations between racial/ethnic identity and past-week depression and/or anxiety symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-2 score ≥ 3 or Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 score ≥ 3), trouble sleeping, physical reactions when thinking about COVID-19, and self-rated worsened mental health due to the pandemic were estimated in separate logistic regression models. Results Over 30% of respondents reported depression and/or anxiety symptoms, 21% reported physical reactions, 25% had trouble sleeping, and 33% worsened mental health since the pandemic began. Adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics and pandemic-related stressors, odds of anxiety symptoms (odds ratio (OR) 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.30–0.95) and worsened mental health (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.36–0.94) were lower among non-Hispanic Black vs. non-Hispanic white respondents. Limitations No diagnostic assessments were used, and results may not be generalizable to later phases of the pandemic and the entire U.S. South. Conclusions Despite greater pandemic-related stressor experience, poor mental health outcomes were not more common among racial/ethnic minority individuals. However, interventions to reduce disparities in stressor experience and promote mental health are needed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

An examination of racial and ethnic disparities in mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. South

Goldmann

Hagen

Khoury

et al. 2021

Journal of Affective Disorders

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“…Of note in this study, and in contrast to others, anxiety and depression were investigated separately, and in addition to traumatic stress, in an attempt to fully investigate mental health symptomology during the pandemic. The pattern of trajectories described here supports that of existing international research ( Daly and Robinson, 2021 ; Fancourt et al., 2020 ; O'Connor et al., 2021 ; Riehm et al., 2021 ; Shevlin et al., 2021 ; Wang et al., 2020b ), suggesting that for most people mental health symptomology may be relative stable, and any increases temporary, but for a smaller proportion of individuals mental health symptoms are consistently high or increased during the pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Longitudinal analysis of the UK COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study: Trajectories of anxiety, depression and COVID-19-related stress symptomology

McPherson

McAloney‐Kocaman

McGlinchey

et al. 2021

Psychiatry Research

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COVID-19 has had a negative impact on the mental health of individuals. The aim of the COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study was to identify trajectories of anxiety, depression and COVID-19-related traumatic stress (CV19TS) symptomology during the first UK national lockdown. We also sought to explore risk and protective factors. The study was a longitudinal, three-wave survey of UK adults conducted online. Analysis used growth mixture modelling and logistic regressions. Data was collected from 1958 adults. A robust 4-class model for anxiety, depression, and CV19TS symptomology distinguished participants in relation to the severity and stability of symptomology. Classes described low and stable and high and stable symptomology, and symptomology that improved or declined across the study period. Several risk and protection factors were identified as predicting membership of classes (e.g., mental health factors, sociodemographic factors and COVID-19 worries). This study reports trajectories describing a differential impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of UK adults. Some adults experienced psychological distress throughout, some were more vulnerable in the early weeks, and for others vulnerability was delayed. These findings emphasise the need for appropriate mental health support interventions to promote improved outcomes in the COVID-19 recovery phase and future pandemics.

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“…In the US, mental health distress rose sharply early in the pandemic and then recovered partially. Mental health distress rose to a peak in April, but improved since then and by August had returned to a level comparable to that of early March [ 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 vaccines and mental distress

et al. 2021

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic brought about large increases in mental distress. The uptake of COVID-19 vaccines is expected to significantly reduce health risks, improve economic and social outcomes, with potential benefits to mental health. Purpose To examine short-term changes in mental distress following the receipt of the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Methods Participants included 8,003 adults from the address-based sampled, nationally representative Understanding America Study (UAS), surveyed at regular intervals between March 10, 2020, and March 31, 2021 who completed at least two waves of the survey. Respondents answered questions about COVID-19 vaccine status and self-reported mental distress as measured with the four-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4). Fixed-effects regression models were used to identify the change in PHQ-4 scores and categorical indicators of mental distress resulting from the application of the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Results People who were vaccinated between December 2020 and March 2021 reported decreased mental distress levels in the surveys conducted after receiving the first dose. The fixed-effects estimates show an average effect of receiving the vaccine equivalent to 4% of the standard deviation of PHQ-4 scores (p-value<0.01), a reduction in 1 percentage point (4% reduction from the baseline level) in the probability of being at least mildly depressed, and of 0.7 percentage points (15% reduction from the baseline level) in the probability of being severely depressed (p-value = 0.06). Conclusions Getting the first dose of COVID-19 resulted in significant improvements in mental health, beyond improvements already achieved since mental distress peaked in the spring of 2020.

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Trajectories of Mental Distress Among U.S. Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 90 publications

References 28 publications

An examination of racial and ethnic disparities in mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. South

An examination of racial and ethnic disparities in mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. South

Longitudinal analysis of the UK COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study: Trajectories of anxiety, depression and COVID-19-related stress symptomology

COVID-19 vaccines and mental distress

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