Trajectories of Mental Distress Among U.S. Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Ann Behav Med
; 55(2): 93-102, 2021 03 16.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1069209
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Cross-sectional studies have found that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively affected population-level mental health. Longitudinal studies are necessary to examine trajectories of change in mental health over time and identify sociodemographic groups at risk for persistent distress.PURPOSE:
To examine the trajectories of mental distress between March 10 and August 4, 2020, a key period during the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS:
Participants included 6,901 adults from the nationally representative Understanding America Study, surveyed at baseline between March 10 and 31, 2020, with nine follow-up assessments between April 1 and August 4, 2020. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to examine the association between date and self-reported mental distress (measured with the four-item Patient Health Questionnaire) among U.S. adults overall and among sociodemographic subgroups defined by sex, age, race/ethnicity, household structure, federal poverty line, and census region.RESULTS:
Compared to March 11, the odds of mental distress among U.S. adults overall were 1.84 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.65-2.07) times higher on April 1 and 1.92 (95% CI = 1.62-2.28) times higher on May 1; by August 1, the odds of mental distress had returned to levels comparable to March 11 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.66-0.96). Females experienced a sharper increase in mental distress between March and May compared to males (females OR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.85-2.82; males OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.15-2.02).CONCLUSIONS:
These findings highlight the trajectory of mental health symptoms during an unprecedented pandemic, including the identification of populations at risk for sustained mental distress.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Mental Health
/
Psychological Distress
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Ann Behav Med
Journal subject:
Behavioral Sciences
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Abm
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