P.0817 Sociodemographic and lifestyle predictors of mental health adaptability during COVID-19 compulsory confinement: a longitudinal study

Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 and the physical isolation measures taken by the governments to reduce its propagation might have negative psychological consequences on the population [1, 2]. In this study, we aimed to explore, for the first time, how mental health status fluctuated along the weeks of the emergency state in Portugal, and to identify which factors may shape these changes in mental health outcomes. Methods: A longitudinal survey study using a convenience sample was conducted, evaluating demographic, clinical, lifestyle and mental health variables in the Portuguese population at three different time-points. Mental health was assessed by means of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), and with quality of life (QoL) self-evaluation, satisfaction, and quality of sleep questions. Google Forms was used for the online survey, and social media and national newspapers were used to advertise and recruit possible volunteers. The first time-point took place between the 23rd of March and the 5th of April 2020, and the second and third time-points were 4 weeks and 8 weeks later, respectively. 748 participants (mean age = 39.52, % females = 79.95) provided data at all time-points. Repeated-measures analyses were performed to explore whether mental health significantly varied across time. Next, multiple regression models were used in order to identify the sociodemographic, clinical and lifestyle factors significantly associated with each dependent variable's change (DASS-21 subscales and QoL measures). The following predictors were tested in the multiple regression models: age, sex, employment status, house balcony and/or terrace, living with children/teenagers/elderly, having a diagnosis of a psychiatric/physical disorder, consumption of substances several times a week, daily amount of time dedicated to sport/looking for COVID-19 related news, and the NEO-FFI subscales. Results We observed that depression (χ2F(2)=23.19, p<.001, Kendall's W=0.793), anxiety (χ2F(2)=97.04, p<.001, Kendall's W=0.745) and stress (χ2F(2)=35.11, p<.001, Kendall's W=0.788) symptoms seemed to improve as the weeks passed during the state of emergency, while the perception of quality of life (self-evaluation: χ2F(2)=140.4, p<.001, Kendall's W=0.749;satisfaction: χ2F(2)=82.02, p<.001, Kendall's W=0.765) and sleep (χ2F(2)=23.5, p<.001, Kendall's W=0.796) got worse. All multiple regression models were statistically significant (DASS-21 Depression: F(17,730)=6.53;p<.001, R2=0.132;DASS-21 Anxiety: F(17,730)=5.12;p<.001, R2=0.106;DASS-21 Stress: F(17,730)=7.16;p<.001, R2=0.143;QoL self-evaluation: F(17,730)=5.8;p<.001, R2=0.119;QoL satisfaction: F(17,730)=6.9;p<.001, R2=0.138;Quality of sleep: F(17,730)=1.98;p=.01, R2=0.044). Regarding the significant predictors, in summary, being female, younger, actively working, and extroverted appear to be protective factors of mental health adaptability during this particular period. On the contrary, having a psychiatric diagnosis or physical illness, and higher neuroticism seem to be risk factors for mental health worsening. Conclusions: Our results provide relevant and novel insights about the course of mental health changes and its predictors during the outbreak of COVID-19, which may help identify potential vulnerability groups. Importantly, the lack of a more diverse sample could limit the generalizability of our results, and other factors that were not considered in our analysis might also have a significant impact on mental health. No conflict of interest

Bilingual Emotion Analysis on Social Media throughout the COVID19 Pandemic in Portugal

This paper presents preliminary work on the topic of emotion analysis on Twitter, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic in Portugal. We collected, curated and analyzed covid-related tweets of users in Portugal in order to understand the evolution of the six basic emotions reflected in these tweets. We analyzed tweets written in both English and Portuguese. In this first step of our work we correlate this information with key events of the evolution of the pandemic in Portugal during March, which was the most critical period in Portugal. We do so in an attempt to estimate the online manifestation of the psychological toll that this pandemic has on the overall well-being status of the general population. Our findings show that the sentiment analysis of covid-related tweets is consistent with our hypothesis that negative emotions would intensify as the pandemic progressed. The preliminary results obtained stand as proof of concept that the analysis of real-time tweets or other social media messages through sentiment analysis can be an important tool for behavioural and well-being tracking.

Health Literacy of the Inland Population in Mitigation Phase 3.2 of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Background: COVID-19 is a respiratory disease transmitted through respiratory droplets and has a high transmission rate. There is still no effective and approved antiretroviral treatment or vaccine, so preventative measures remain the key to contain this pandemic. Portugal is now in phase 3.2 of the mitigation of COVID-19, with it being imperative to understand the health literacy of our country and prevent a lack of information through community empowerment. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study with a sample from a primary care facility was conducted. We collected demographic and epidemiological data and carried out a questionnaire by phone call. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests were used to assess associations between the independent variables and the level of health literacy. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Our sample included 222 subjects (median age 62 years), mostly females (n = 131), undergraduates (n = 193), and with at least 1 risk factor for COVID-19 (n = 144). Overall, younger individuals, females, graduates and the nonrisk group appeared to have higher levels of health literacy, with some exceptions. Conclusions: We observed a well-informed population. However, it being a pandemic situation, our intention was to identify and correct outliers/misconceptions. This work allowed a perspective of the current state/pattern of health literacy as well as its possible predictors. Furthermore, it raised awareness of the relevance of specific communication approaches. Further studies to understand the predictors of health literacy are necessary. © 2020