scholarly journals Mental Health Status of the General Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional National Survey in Japan

Author(s):  
Michiko Ueda ◽  
Andrew Stickley ◽  
Hajime Sueki ◽  
Tetsuya Matsubayashi

AbstractThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have detrimental mental health consequences. However, as yet, there is limited understanding of its impact on the mental health of the general population. The aim of this study is to examine the mental health of the Japanese general population by conducting the first systematic survey during the pandemic (N=1,000), with a particular focus on identifying the most vulnerable groups. Results from logistic regression analyses showed that the mental health of young and middle-aged individuals was significantly worse than that of older individuals during the pandemic. There was also some indication that individuals who were not currently working were significantly more likely to report a high level of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Part-time and temporary contract-based workers were also more likely to suffer from anxiety disorder. Our results highlight that monitoring the mental health of younger and economically vulnerable individuals may be especially important. In addition, they also indicate that population mental health might not only be affected by the direct health consequences of COVID-19, but also by the economic ramifications of the pandemic.

Author(s):  
Najmuj Sakib ◽  
Tahmina Akter ◽  
Fatematuz Zohra ◽  
A. K. M. Israfil Bhuiyan ◽  
Mohammed A. Mamun ◽  
...  

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic affects individuals’ mental health that can result in fear of getting COVID-19 infection and depression. As there is no prior study available, we evaluated these mental health outcomes and associated factors among the general population and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in Bangladesh. This nationwide cross-sectional study comprised 3388 individuals including 834 HCPs. The measures included socio-demographics, healthcare, and patient-care related information, the Bangla Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Bangla Fear of COVID-19 Scale. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors. Just over one-quarter of the participants were depressed, and was significantly associated with COVID-19 fear. Regression analyses showed that, both in general population and HCPs, depression and fear of COVID-19 were strongly predicted by being female; however, depression was inversely associated with being married. Particularly, among the HCPs, being restless while examining a patient with flu-like symptoms and while examining a patient returning from abroad was found to be significant predictor for both depression and fear of COVID-19. HCPs who were using single protective equipment for a week had greater depression and those who felt insecure due to the pandemic had a high level of COVID-19 fear. The findings identified major psychological impacts among the participants, suggesting the urgent need to promote mental wellbeing in both general population and medical professionals.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110152
Author(s):  
Margaret Isioma Ojeahere ◽  
Sahmicit Kankemwa Kumswa ◽  
Frances Adiukwu ◽  
Janet Punyit Plang ◽  
Yetunde Folake Taiwo

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a global health problem with increasing mental health consequences. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Nigeria, couples were compelled to spend more time together, regardless of their pre-existing challenges. Our study aims to determine the prevalence of IPV, its forms, and mental health implications among Nigerian households amid the COVID-19 lockdown. A cross-sectional study was implemented which used the snowball sampling technique to recruit 474 participants across 31 states in Nigeria. A semi-structured online questionnaire was distributed using the WhatsApp platform. The relationship between IPV, its forms, and associated factors were analyzed using descriptive analysis and logistic regression with significant value at p ≤ .05 and confidence interval of 95%. Majority (98.1%) of the participants had at least a college degree and 90.1% were employed. Overall prevalence of IPV ranged from 7.2% to 13.5%. Using the lockdown as the landmark, higher prevalence was found before than during the lockdown across physical, emotional, financial, and sexual forms of IPV. Emotional form had the highest prevalence both before and during the lockdown with 11.4% and 3.8% respectively. Furthermore, 22.6% of participants reported that the lockdown affected their mental health. Hopelessness, feelings of failure, being irritable, and constantly under strain were psychological symptoms significantly associated with IPV amid the lockdown. Decreased prevalence of IPV were found in the early phase of the pandemic, suggesting that couples can experience less partner violence during periods of confinement. Our study supports existing evidence that forms of IPV have negative mental health consequences on abused partners.


Author(s):  
Li Xu ◽  
Dingyun You ◽  
Chengyu Li ◽  
Xiyu Zhang ◽  
Runxu Yang ◽  
...  

AbstractFacing with COVID-19 epidemic such a catastrophic health emergency, the mental health status of medical staff deserves attention. We conducted a two-stage of psychological status monitoring after the end of the assistance and 14 days of isolation, further targeted the vulnerable groups in need of intervention. The study is a cross-sectional survey on 1156 Yunnan medical staff aid to Hubei. Used Cluster sampling method to collect data at 2 time points (at the end of returning from Wuhan and the 14th day of isolation), from March 18, 2020 to April 6, 2020. Female and nurse had higher rates of depressive symptoms than male and doctors and other occupations. The proportion of female with mild and above moderate anxiety levels (22.91%, 2.61%) was higher than male (17.35%, 1.03%) (p < 0.05). Female had a better impaired sleep quality (45.06%, 17.49%) more than male (28.57%, 7.94%). Medical staff supported in Wuhan and with junior professional titles reported a higher proportion of sleep quality impairment. At the 14th isolation day stage, the proportion of nurses changed from depression to health (9.15%) and from health to depression (6.1%) better than doctors. The front-line medical staffs had suffered greater psychological pressure in the treatment process of major public health emergency. Researches on the dynamic monitor for the change of psychological status after aiding epidemic areas were still in relatively blank stage. Targeting the vulnerable characteristics of aiding medical staff is significant for effective psychological intervention and sustainable operation of health system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (12) ◽  
pp. 832-840
Author(s):  
Katti Sathaporn ◽  
Jarurin Pitanupong

Objective: To determine the level of and factors associated with empathy among medical students.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed all first- to sixth-year medical students at the Facultyof Medicines, Prince of Songkla University, at the end of the 2020 academic year. The questionnaires consisted of:1) The personal and demographic information questionnaire, 2) The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire, and 3) ThaiMental Health Indicator-15. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and factors associated with empathylevel were assessed via chi-square and logistic regression analyses.Results: There were 1010 participants with response rate of 94%. Most of them were female (59%). More than half(54.9%) reported a high level of empathy. There was a statistically significant difference in empathy levels betweenpre-clinical and clinical medical students; in regards to empathy subgroups (P-value < 0.001). The assessment ofemotional states in others by demonstrating appropriate sensitivity behavior, altruism, and empathic respondingscores among the pre-clinical group were higher than those of the clinical group. Multivariate analysis indicatedthat female gender, pre-clinical training level, and minor specialty preference were factors associated with empathylevel. The protective factor that significantly improved the level of empathy was having fair to good mental health.Conclusion: More than half of the surveyed medical students reported a high level of empathy. The protective factorthat improved the level of empathy was good mental health. However, future qualitative methods, longitudinalsurveillance, or long-term follow-up designs are required to ensure the trustworthiness of these findings.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Syed Sheriff ◽  
Helen Adams ◽  
Evgenia Riga ◽  
Andrew K. Przybylski ◽  
Laura Bonsaver ◽  
...  

Aims and method To gain a deeper understanding of the use of online culture and its potential benefits to mental health and well-being, sociodemographic characteristics and self-reported data on usage, perceived mental health benefits and health status were collected in an online cross-sectional survey during COVID-19 restrictions in the UK in June–July 2020. Results In total, 1056 people completed the survey. A high proportion of participants reported finding online culture helpful for mental health; all but one of the benefits were associated with regular use and some with age. Reported benefits were wide-ranging and interconnected. Those aged under 25 years were less likely to be regular users of online culture or to have increased their use during lockdown. Clinical implications There may be benefits in targeting cultural resources for mental health to vulnerable groups such as young adults.


Author(s):  
Linda K. Tindimwebwa ◽  
Anthony I. Ajayi ◽  
Oladele V. Adeniyi

Background: Given the physical and mental health consequences of tobacco use amongst individuals with mental illness, it was imperative to assess the burden of tobacco use in this population.Aim: This study examined the patterns and factors associated with tobacco use in individuals attending the outpatient unit.Setting: Cecilia Makiwane Hospital Mental Health Department in Eastern Cape province, South Africa.Methods: Lifetime (ever use) use and current use of any tobacco products were examined in a cross-sectional study of 390 individuals between March and June 2020. A logistic regression was fitted to determine the correlates of lifetime and current use of any tobacco products.Results: The rates of ever use and current use of tobacco products were 59.4% and 44.6%, respectively. Of the participants interviewed, lifetime tobacco use was more prevalent amongst individuals with schizophrenia (67.9%) and cannabis-induced disorders (97.3%) and lower in those with major depressive disorders (36.1%) and bipolar and related disorders (43.5%). Men were six times more likely to have ever used or currently use tobacco products in comparison to women. Also, those who had a salaried job or owned a business were over three times more likely to have ever used or currently use tobacco products compared with those receiving government social grants.Conclusions: The prevalence of tobacco use in this study was significantly higher than the general population in the Eastern Cape. Therefore, smoking prevention and cessation interventions targeted at the general population should target this often neglected sub-population in the region.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002204262110376
Author(s):  
Dylan J. Shaw ◽  
Micah E. Johnson

The prevalence of opioid misuse (OM) among justice-involved children (JIC) is significantly higher than children in the general population, yet little research has examined the predictors of OM among JIC. Goldstein’s “economic compulsive model” hypothesizes that JIC who commit crimes for material gain will have a higher likelihood of meeting past-30 day (P30D) OM criteria. The data in this study were cross-sectional and represented 79,960 Florida JIC. To test the hypothesis, logistic regression analyses were utilized. Over 2000 JIC (2.67%) met P30D OM criteria and JIC who committed crimes for material gain were 2.55 times as likely to meet P30D OM criteria. Findings indicate that children may be incarcerated due to an inability to afford their addiction, contributing to the criminalization of mental health. JIC could benefit from the increased utilization of drug courts and the implementation of a cascade of care model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (19) ◽  
pp. 1432-1439
Author(s):  
Vishwak Reddy Vatte ◽  
Praveen Khairkar ◽  
Srinivas Kandrakonda ◽  
Tabitha Jezreel ◽  
Satya Revanth Karri ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND In COVID-19 pandemic, nation-wide complete lockdown was enforced for about 10 weeks which was an unprecedented experience for all and potentially influenced mental wellbeing partly through infodemic mismanagements. This study intended to analyse the impact of media and time management pattern on mental wellbeing among general population during COVID-19 lockdown in India. METHODS An online study questionnaire was circulated among general population between 1 st April and 12th May 2020 using social networking site (s). The questionnaire included socio-demographic details, source of information and knowledge on COVID-19, impact of time spent on media, smart phone, productive and relaxation activities, general views on lockdown experience and further mental health status was screened using standardized DASS - 21 Scale. Appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics were done using SPSS statistic 26.0. RESULTS A total of 891 people responded from 11 states, mostly (89 %) from South India, and 27.5 % were having mental health problems on DASS - 21 scale. Most of the participants opined that COVID-19 information on traditional (53 %) and social media (85 %) were not completely authentic and perhaps amplifying perceptual responses. Excess time spent on media (46 %) and smart phone over exposure (61 %) had significant mental health issues and on contrary individuals who managed their time well, indulging in productive and relaxation activities were found to be psychologically stable (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the impact of media and time management pattern during lockdown emphasizing both positive and negative predictors of mental health. There is clearly a need for media regulation and working in collaboration with authorities for better mental wellbeing of the society in ongoing fight with COVID19. KEYWORDS COVID-19, Lockdown, Media, Smartphone, Time Management Pattern


AAOHN Journal ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 519-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuko Nishisaka ◽  
Takesumi Yoshimura

In this cross sectional study conducted in one city in Japan, psychiatrists were asked to answer self administered questionnaires related to their patients' vital status, constituent family members, employment status, financial support from family, emotional support from family, present state of mental condition, and steps used to help them return to society. The focus of the study was to identify and understand the needs of Japanese workers with mental health problems, and to relate the findings to implications for the workplace. Of the 1,283 male patients reported on in the survey, the greatest proportion (45.1%) suffered from schizophrenia, with the prevalence of this serious illness decreasing with age. One half of the total group worked full or part time, with highest rates of employment among those in their 40s and 50s. The most common jobs were simple physical work or assembly. Workers older than 40 years also were more likely to be responsible for financial support of their families. It is suggested that the occupational health nurse has an important role in providing interventions to help these workers remain productive in the workplace, and thus in society.


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