ABSTRACT
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing global crisis, with a multitude of factors that affect mental health worldwide. Here, we explore potential predictors for the emergence and maintenance of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in the general population in Israel. MethodsAcross the span of 16 months, 2,478 people completed a repeated self-report survey which inquired psychiatric symptoms and pandemic related stress factors (PRSF). PRSF were divided into four clusters of environmental stressors: financial, health-related, fatigue and sense of protection by authorities. We applied mixed-effects linear models to assess how each stressor contributes to depression, anxiety and PTSS at each time point, alongside a longitudinal exploration among participants who completed at least two consecutive surveys (n=400). ResultsFatigue was the strongest predictor for depression, anxiety and PTSS at all time points (standardized {beta} between 0.28-0.60, p<.0001), and predicted deterioration overtime ({beta} between 0.22-0.36, p<.0001). Financial concerns associated with depression and anxiety at all time points ({beta} between 0.13- 0.26, p<.01), and with their deterioration overtime ({beta} between 0.16-0.18, p<.0001), while health related concerns were uniquely associated with anxiety and PTSS at all time points ({beta} between 0.14-0.29, p<.01) and their deterioration ({beta} between 0.11-0.16, p<.001), but not with depression. Improvement in sense of protection overtime associated with decrease in depression and anxiety ({beta} between -0.09 to -0.16, p<.01). ConclusionsOur findings accentuate the multitude of risk factors for psychiatric morbidity during COVID-19, and the dynamics in their association with different aspects of psychopathology at various time points.
