The adverse impact of consecutive COVID-19 waves on mental health
Abstract
Background
Although several studies documented the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, the long-term effects of COVID-19 on mental health remain unclear.
Aims
To examine longitudinal changes in mental health prior to and during the consecutive COVID-19 waves in a well-established probability sample.
Method
An online survey was completed by the participants of the COVID-19 add-on study at 4 timepoints (N 1 =1823, N 2 =788, N 3 =532, N 4 =383): pre-COVID period (2014/2015), 1 st COVID-19 wave (April-May, 2020), 2 nd COVID-19 wave (August-October, 2020) and 3 rd COVID-19 wave (March-April, 2021). Data were collected via a set of validated instruments and analysed using latent growth models.
Results
During the pandemic, we observed a significant increase in stress levels (slope=1.127, P<0.001) and depressive symptoms (slope=1.177, P<0.001). The rate of increase in stress levels (cov=2.167, P=0.002), but not in depressive symptoms (cov=0.558, P=0.10), was associated with the pre-pandemic mental health status of the participants. Further analysis revealed two opposing clusters of factors that influenced mental health: loneliness and COVID-19 showed a negative effect on emotionality, while higher resilience acted protectively. A greater increase in stress was observed in women and younger participants.
Conclusions
The surge in stress levels and depressive symptoms persisted across all three consecutive COVID-19 waves. This surge is attributable to the effect of several risk factors including the status of mental health prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings have implications for strategies promoting resilience and addressing loneliness to mitigate the mental health impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
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