In these studies, female gender, younger age group (≤40 years), and student population were repetitively reported to exhibit more adverse psychiatric symptoms. The intensity of overall stress was evaluated and reported in four studies. Interestingly, researchers have identified personality traits to be predictive of psychological distresses. Intuitively, contact history with COVID-positive patients or objects may lead to more anxiety symptoms, which is noted in one study (Moghanibashi-Mansourieh, 2020). A prolonged period of quarantine was also correlated with higher risks of anxiety symptoms. On the other hand, Lei et al. (2020) found that divorced/widowed participants developed more anxiety symptoms than single or married individuals.
7. Symptoms of PTSD/ psychological distress/stress and associated risk factors
- Advances in genomic research have led to the development of polygenic risk scores, which aggregate the effects of multiple genetic variants to estimate an individual’s risk for certain mental disorders.
- Although steps have been taken to address negative mental health impacts stemming from the pandemic, mental health and substance use concerns remain elevated.
- For example, if the effects of the pandemic were assessed in patients with anxiety, depression or schizophrenia, the article could only be included in the review if analyses examined patients with anxiety and/or depression separately from patients with schizophrenia.
- Such collaboration can inform policies that reduce inequalities, enhance social support systems, and promote mental health literacy.
Gardner, W, States, D, Bagley, N. The coronavirus and the risks to the elderly in long-term care. Insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Greek population. Xiao, H, Zhang, Y, Kong, D, Li, S, Yang, N. Social capital and sleep quality in individuals who self- isolated for 14 days during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in January 2020 in China. Psychosocial impacts of quarantine during disease outbreaks and interventions that may help to relieve strain. Vulnerable youth and the COVID-19 pandemic. Sidpra, J, Abomeli, D, Hameed, B, Baker, J, Mankad, K. Rise in the incidence of abusive head trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Countries such as India and the United States have seen rising suicide rates, highlighting the urgent need for targeted mental health interventions and support systems . Mental well-being, a broader term, encompasses the positive aspects of mental health, including resilience, life satisfaction, and a sense of purpose. In the modern era, mental health and well-being have become pivotal aspects of global health, gaining increasing recognition as essential components of overall well-being. Special attention is given to the rise of telemedicine and mobile mental health apps, offering innovative solutions to bridge gaps in mental healthcare accessibility.
Give mental health equal priority to physical health
When analyzing interventions for impact specifically on anxiety symptoms, the results were not significant. Another Chinese group investigated the impact of an internet-based intervention for depressive and anxiety symptoms in COVID-19 patients.34 This 2-week trial consisted of daily 50-minute practices of breath relaxation techniques, mindfulness, https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-04-29/parenting-teens-coronavirus “refuge skill,” and a “butterfly hug.” The authors found a significant improvement in mild depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms after the 1st and 2nd weeks of the intervention. Regarding each intervention, psychiatric and psychological were the most frequently reported, followed by self-care and educational interventions. A total of 125 articles published from 2003 (first article) to 2020 regarding mental health interventions for COVID-19 and other coronaviruses (SARS and MERS) were found.
Importantly, these gender effects need to be considered with caution due to unequal group size (230 females vs. only 77 males). Maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (CERQ-mal) showed the same pattern as the previous risk factors (Fig. 2d). Risk factors exhibiting similar impact on the trajectory of psychological strain. Boxplots denote 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quartiles with whiskers extending 1.5 inter-quartile ranges or until the most extreme data point has been reached. All values were z-standardized using the pre-pandemic mean and standard deviation. Other effects did not reach statistical significance (Fs ≤ 2.46, ps ≥ 0.117).
Because of this issue, the evolution of recorded aggregate call numbers should be interpreted as a lower-bound estimate of the true increase in the number of people who sought to call a helpline in the first wave of the pandemic. Helpline data contribute a measurement tool that is both broadly available and well targeted on the mental health concerns of a particularly vulnerable segment of the population. This is a first-order issue for policymakers, as interventions designed to contain infections might also affect mental health by exacerbating unemployment, financial stress, loneliness, relationship problems and pre-existing mental vulnerabilities.
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They concluded that their data suggests that “population level resilience in mental health may be occurring in response to the pandemic.” We also find some resiliency. MHA reported that 35% of the people they screened had depression while 20% had anxiety from January-September 2020. Unlike most prior studies, the current one also considers the introduction and administration of the vaccines and their effects on mental health. In this paper we contribute to the literature by analyzing high-frequency data for the United States for the period April 2020 to April 2022 to track the evolution of the mental health of nearly 3 million Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its correlates. Using 44 sweeps of the US Census Household Pulse Survey data for the period April 2020 to April 22 we track the evolution of the mental health of just over three million Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.