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.
Text
Daly et al_Changes in mental health and COVID-19_Psychological Medicine.pdf - Author Accepted Manuscript Download (478kB) | Preview |
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 |
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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 |