Longitudinal changes in mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the UK Household Longitudinal Study



Daly, Michael, Sutin, Angelina R and Robinson, Eric ORCID: 0000-0003-3586-5533
(2022) Longitudinal changes in mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Psychological Medicine, 52 (13). pp. 1-10.

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Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:sec id="S0033291720004432_sec_a1"> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic has had a range of negative social and economic effects that may contribute to a rise in mental health problems. In this observational population-based study, we examined longitudinal changes in the prevalence of mental health problems from before to during the COVID-19 crisis and identified subgroups that are psychologically vulnerable during the pandemic.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="S0033291720004432_sec_a2" sec-type="methods"> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>Participants (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 14 393; observations = 48 486) were adults drawn from wave 9 (2017–2019) of the nationally representative United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) and followed-up across three waves of assessment in April, May, and June 2020. Mental health problems were assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="S0033291720004432_sec_a3" sec-type="results"> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>The population prevalence of mental health problems (GHQ-12 score ⩾3) increased by 13.5 percentage points from 24.3% in 2017–2019 to 37.8% in April 2020 and remained elevated in May (34.7%) and June (31.9%) 2020. All sociodemographic groups examined showed statistically significant increases in mental health problems in April 2020. The increase was largest among those aged 18–34 years (18.6 percentage points, 95% CI 14.3–22.9%), followed by females and high-income and education groups. Levels of mental health problems subsequently declined between April and June 2020 but remained significantly above pre-COVID-19 levels. Additional analyses showed that the rise in mental health problems observed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic was unlikely to be due to seasonality or year-to-year variation.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="S0033291720004432_sec_a4" sec-type="conclusions"> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>This study suggests that a pronounced and prolonged deterioration in mental health occurred as the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in the UK between April and June 2020.</jats:p> </jats:sec>

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Humans, Prevalence, Longitudinal Studies, Mental Health, Adult, Female, Pandemics, COVID-19
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 04 Dec 2020 09:43
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 23:19
DOI: 10.1017/s0033291720004432
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3109168