Impact of COVID-19 on mental health according to prior depression status: A mental health survey of community prospective cohort data
Open accessAbstract
Objective We aimed to investigate the mental health impact of COVID-19 on a demographically well-characterized population cohort by gender and previous depression status.Methods Among people who participated in a community cohort study between 2013 and 2018 with previous depression measurement, a total of 1928 people without quarantine experience (680 men and 1249 women) were included after responding to an online survey in March 2020. In the 2020 survey, people were queried about daily needs supply, social support, risk perception, change during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as mental health indices measuring loneliness, anxiety symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression. Separate analyses by gender were conducted to assess the association between COVID-19-related experiences and each mental health index, using multivariable logistic regressions with additional adjustment and stratification with pre-existing depression status.Results We could not observe significant gender differences for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and loneliness at 55 days after the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. Most external support, including daily needs supply and social support, protected men and women from experiencing severe anxiety (for life supply, OR = 0.92 (95%CI 0.88-0.97) (men) and OR = 0.95 (95% CI 0.91-0.99) (women); for social support, OR = 0.92(both for men and women, p < 0.01)). The results were similar for depression and PTSD. External support showed a larger reduction in the likelihoods for anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic among people with pre-existing depression compared to previously healthy people, and it was more prominent in men.Conclusion COVID-19 significantly affected the mental health of both men and women in the early period of the pandemic. Having enough supply of daily needs and social support seems important, especially for people with previous depression.
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Social distancing, in association with limited social support and interpersonal communication, has worsened depression, fear, insomnia, and anxiety symptoms.
“Such social distancing, in association with limited social support and interpersonal communication, has worsened depression, fear, insomnia, and anxiety symptoms [20].”
From Depression, anxiety, and stress in Korean general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
The prevalence of anxiety in this study (10.6%) was much higher than the 2.4% reported in a previous national survey based on lifetime prevalence.
“In total, 10.6% of the participants were likely to have generalized anxiety disorder, as indicated by scores of 10 or higher on the GAD-7, which was much higher than the proportion of 2.4% reported in a previous national survey based on lifetime prevalence [20].”
From Depression, anxiety, and stress in Korean general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
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- Authors
- Jung, S. J., Jeon, Y. J., Yang, J. S., Park, M., Kim, K., Chibnik, L. B., Kim, H. C., & Koenen, K. C.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Yonsei University (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Jung, Sun Jae
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Psychosomatic Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-09
- Volume
- 148
- Pages
- 110552
- ISSN
- 0022-3999 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8590509
- OpenAlex
- W3176112455
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 4
- FWCI
- 2.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Psychosomatic Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- YUHSpace (Yonsei University Medical Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (2020R1C1C1003502)
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Yonsei University College of Medicine (6-2019-0114)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, mental health, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, loneliness, social support, gender differences, community-based cohort
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adult, Aged, Anxiety, Depression, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Time Factors, Causality, Pandemics
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