Dataset Information

Development of severe psychological distress among low-income individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

It has been indicated that the health impact of COVID-19 is potentially greater in individuals from lower socioeconomic status than in the overall population.

Aims

To examine how the spread of COVID-19 has altered the general public's mental health, and whether such changes differ in relation to individual income.

Method

An online longitudinal survey was conducted at three different time periods during the pandemic. We recruited 1993 people aged 20-70 years, living in the Tokyo metropolitan area in Japan. Participants' mental health was measured with the six-item version of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale; the existence of severe psychological distress was ascertained through the cut-off data. Multiple logistic and mixed-model ordinal logistic regression analyses were performed, with income as the independent variable.

Results

Of the participants, 985 were male, with a mean age of 50.5 (±15.8) years. Severe psychological distress percentages for each tested period were 9.3%, 11.2% and 10.7% for phases 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Between phases 1 and 2 or phases 2 and 3, the group that earned <£15 000 had significantly higher propensity to develop severe psychological distress than the group that earned ?£45 000 (odds ratio 2.09, 95% CI 0.95-4.56 between phases 1 and 2; odds ratio 3.00, 95% CI 1.01-9.58 between phases 2 and 3).

Conclusions

Although there has been significant deterioration in mental health among citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic, this was more significant among those with lower income. Therefore, mental health measures that focus on low socioeconomic groups may be necessary.

SUBMITTER: Kikuchi H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7884661 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Development of severe psychological distress among low-income individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study.

Kikuchi Hiroyuki H Machida Masaki M Nakamura Itaru I Saito Reiko R Odagiri Yuko Y Kojima Takako T Watanabe Hidehiro H Inoue Shigeru S

BJPsych open 20210215 2

<h4>Background</h4>It has been indicated that the health impact of COVID-19 is potentially greater in individuals from lower socioeconomic status than in the overall population.<h4>Aims</h4>To examine how the spread of COVID-19 has altered the general public's mental health, and whether such changes differ in relation to individual income.<h4>Method</h4>An online longitudinal survey was conducted at three different time periods during the pandemic. We recruited 1993 people aged 20-70 years, livi ...[more]

PMID: 33583484

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Project description:Individuals with severe mental illnesses (SMIs) may be disproportionately vulnerable to COVID-19 infection and psychological distress. This study investigated the prevalence of engagement in COVID-19 preventative behaviors, predictors of these behaviors, and COVID-19-related psychological distress. One hundred and sixty-three individuals with SMIs (94 with schizophrenia spectrum illnesses and 69 with affective disorders) and 27 psychiatrically healthy comparison participants were recruited from ongoing studies across 3 sites, to complete a phone survey querying implementation of 8 specific COVID-19 preventative behaviors that participants engaged in at least once in the past month as well as standard assessments of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, loneliness, and coping. Data were collected between 3 April 2020 and 4 June 2020. The large majority of our SMI sample, which consisted of outpatients with relatively mild symptom severity, endorsed engaging in multiple preventative behaviors. Relatively few differences were found between groups; however, individuals with SMI were less likely to work remotely than healthy individuals and individuals with schizophrenia spectrum illness were less likely to stay home as a preventative measure, wear face masks, and work remotely than individuals with affective disorders. Differences in staying home remained after controlling for potential confounds. Although individuals with SMI reported more psychological distress related to COVID-19, this distress was largely unrelated to engagement in preventative behaviors. The large majority of individuals with SMI in this outpatient sample, regardless of broad diagnostic category, reported performing multiple behaviors intended to prevent COVID-19 infection at least once a month and reported distress associated with the pandemic. These findings suggest a good level of awareness of COVID-19 among stable outpatients with SMI. The degree to which more acutely ill persons with SMI engage in such preventative behaviors, however, remains to be examined.

Project description:BackgroundDuring major pandemics such as COVID-19, the fear of being infected, uncertain prognoses, and the imposition of restrictions may result in greater odds of emotional and psychological distress. Hence, the present study examines the predictors of psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, and how they differ by gender.MethodsData of 2,756 adults aged 18 years and above from a cross-sectional online survey conducted between July and October 2020 was used for this study. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out. The results were presented as adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with their respective confidence interval (CI).ResultsLower odds of psychological distress were found among males compared to females and among individuals aged 45-64 or 65-84 years compared to those aged 18-44. The odds of psychological distress decreased with a rise in income, with individuals whose annual income was greater than or equal to $100,000 being less likely to experience psychological distress compared to those whose income was less than $20,000. The odds of psychological distress were higher among residents of Ontario compared to residents of Quebec. Similarly, the odds of psychological distress were higher among individuals who reported experiencing COVID-19 symptoms compared to those who did not report any COVID-19 symptoms. The disaggregated results by gender showed that age, province, and self-reported COVID-19 symptoms had significant associations with psychological distress in both males and females, but these effects were more pronounced among females compared to males. In addition, income was negatively associated with psychological distress for both males and females, with this effect being stronger among males.ConclusionFive exposure variables (gender, age, province, experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, and total annual income in 2019) significantly predicted the likelihood of reporting psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Clearly, there is an imminent need to provide mental health support services to vulnerable groups. Additionally, interventions and policies aimed at combating psychological distress during pandemics such as COVID-19 should be gender specific.

Dataset Information

Development of severe psychological distress among low-income individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study.

Background

Aims

Method

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Development of severe psychological distress among low-income individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study.

Similar Datasets

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