scholarly journals The impact of work loss on mental and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a prospective cohort study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Griffiths ◽  
Luke Sheehan ◽  
Caryn Van Vreden ◽  
Dennis Petrie ◽  
Genevieve Grant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Work Loss ◽  
High Psychological Distress ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Objective: To determine if losing work during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with mental and physical health. To determine if social interactions and financial resources moderate the relationship between work loss and health. Design: Baseline data from a prospective longitudinal cohort study. Setting: Australia, 27th March to 12th June 2020. Participants: Australians aged 18+ years, employed in a paid job prior to the COVID-19 pandemic who responded to an online or telephone survey. Main Outcome Measures: Kessler-6 score > 18 indicating high psychological distress. Short Form 12 (SF-12) mental health or physical health component score <= 45 indicating poor mental or physical health. Results: 2,603 respondents including groups who had lost their job (N=541), were not working but remained employed (N=613), were working less (N=789) and whose work was unaffected (N=789). Three groups experiencing work loss had greater odds of high psychological distress (AOR=2.22-3.66), poor mental (AOR=1.78-2.27) and physical health (AOR=2.10-2.12) than the unaffected work group. Poor mental health was more common than poor physical health. The odds of high psychological distress (AOR=5.43-8.36), poor mental (AOR=1.92-4.53) and physical health (AOR=1.93-3.90) were increased in those reporting fewer social interactions or less financial resources. Conclusion: Losing work during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with mental and physical health problems, and this relationship is moderated by social interactions and financial resources. Responses that increase financial security and enhance social connections may partially alleviate the health impacts of work loss.

Expressive Writing and Stress-Related Disorders

2018 ◽  
pp. 704-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Wilhelm ◽  
Joanna Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Expressive Writing ◽  
Benefit Finding ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Health Domains ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Emotional Events ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Expressive writing (EW) was developed in the 1980s by Pennebaker and colleagues, who defined it as “writing focusing on traumatic, stressful or emotional events, and the feelings inspired by these.” There have been developments in terms of process, covering a range of instructions, target groups, and writing conditions and, more recently, benefit-finding writing (BFW) about benefits derived from stress or traumatic situations. EW has now been trialed across a broad range of situations, involving mental and physical health domains. Results from meta-analyses find small but significant improvements more related to physical health than mental health parameters. It is thought to be best suited to people with mild-to-moderate psychological distress who are addressing stress-related conditions and situations. The chapter describes common forms of EW and explores the place of BFW. Some mechanisms for expressive writing are discussed, but these are still speculative.

scholarly journals Biomarkers of autonomic regulation for predicting psychological distress and functional recovery following road traffic injuries: protocol for a prospective cohort study

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e024391
Author(s):  
Ilaria Pozzato ◽  
Ashley Craig ◽  
Bamini Gopinath ◽  
Yvonne Tran ◽  
Michael Dinh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Functional Recovery ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Autonomic Regulation ◽  
International Classification Of Functioning ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

IntroductionPsychological distress is a prevalent condition often overlooked following a motor vehicle crash (MVC), particularly when injuries are not severe. The aim of this study is to examine whether biomarkers of autonomic regulation alone or in combination with other factors assessed shortly after MVC could predict risk of elevated psychological distress and poor functional recovery in the long term, and clarify links between mental and physical health consequences of traffic injury.Methods and analysisThis is a controlled longitudinal cohort study, with follow-up occurring at 3, 6 and 12 months. Participants include up to 120 mild to moderately injured MVC survivors who consecutively present to the emergency departments of two hospitals in Sydney and who agree to participate, and a group of up to 120 non-MVC controls, recruited with matched demographic characteristics, for comparison. WHO International Classification of Functioning is used as the framework for study assessment. The primary outcomes are the development of psychological distress (depressive mood and anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, driving phobia, adjustment disorder) and biomarkers of autonomic regulation. Secondary outcomes include indicators of physical health (presence of pain/fatigue, physical functioning) and functional recovery (quality of life, return to function, participation) as well as measures of emotional and cognitive functioning. For each outcome, risk will be described by the frequency of occurrence over the 12 months, and pathways determined via latent class mixture growth modelling. Regression models will be used to identify best predictors/biomarkers and to study associations between mental and physical health.Ethics and disseminationEthical approvals were obtained from the Sydney Local Health District and the research sites Ethics Committees. Study findings will be disseminated to health professionals, related policy makers and the community through peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and health forums.Trial registration numberACTRN12616001445460.

scholarly journals Pre-pandemic mental and physical health as predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: evidence from a UK-wide cohort study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
George David Batty ◽  
Ian Deary ◽  
Drew Altschul
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Successful Testing ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Importance: Although several predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy have been identified, the role of physical health has not been well-examined, and the association with mental health is unknown. Objective: To examine the association of pre-pandemic mental health, physical health, and shielding with vaccine hesitancy after the announcement of the successful testing of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine. Design, Setting, and Participants: We used individual-level data from a pandemic-focused investigation (COVID Survey), a prospective cohort study nested within the UK Understanding Society (Main Survey) project. In the week immediately following the announcement of successful testing of the first efficacious inoculation (November/December 2020), data on vaccine intentionality were collected in 12,035 individuals aged 16-95 years. Pre-pandemic, study members had responded to enquiries about diagnoses of mental and physical health, completed the 12-item General Health Questionnaire for symptoms of psychological distress (anxiety and depression), and indicated whether they or someone in their household was shielding. Main outcome measures: Self-reported intention to take up a vaccination for COVID-19. To summarise our results, we computed odds ratios with accompanying 95% confidence intervals for indices of health and shielding adjusted for selected covariates. Results: In an analytical sample of 11,955 people (6741 women), 15.4% indicated that they were vaccine hesitant. Relative to their disease-free counterparts, shielding was associated with a 24% lower risk of being hesitant (odds ratio; 95% confidence interval: 0.76; 0.59, 0.96), after adjustment for a range of covariates which included age, education, and ethnicity. Corresponding results for cardiometabolic disease were 22% (0.78; 0.64, 0.95), and for respiratory disease were 26% (0.74; 0.59, 0.93). Having a pre-pandemic diagnosis of anxiety or depression, or a high score on the distress symptom scale, were all unrelated to the willingness to take up a vaccine. Conclusions and relevance: People who have been prioritised for COVID-19 vaccination owing to a physical condition are more likely to take it up. These effects were not apparent for indices of mental health.

scholarly journals The association of cognitive performance with mental health and physical functioning strengthens with age: the Whitehall II cohort study

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 837-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Jokela ◽  
A. Singh-Manoux ◽  
J. E. Ferrie ◽  
D. Gimeno ◽  
T. N. Akbaraly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Physical Functioning ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Health Differences ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
Early Old Age

BackgroundCognitive performance has been associated with mental and physical health, but it is unknown whether the strength of these associations changes with ageing and with age-related social transitions, such as retirement. We examined whether cognitive performance predicted mental and physical health from midlife to early old age.MethodParticipants were 5414 men and 2278 women from the Whitehall II cohort study followed for 15 years between 1991 and 2006. The age range included over the follow-up was from 40 to 75 years. Mental health and physical functioning were measured six times using SF-36 subscales. Cognitive performance was assessed three times using five cognitive tests assessing verbal and numerical reasoning, verbal memory, and phonemic and semantic fluency. Socio-economic status (SES) and retirement were included as covariates.ResultsHigh cognitive performance was associated with better mental health and physical functioning. Mental health differences associated with cognitive performance widened with age from 39 to 76 years of age, whereas physical functioning differences widened only between 39 and 60 years and not after 60 years of age. SES explained part of the widening differences in mental health and physical functioning before age 60. Cognitive performance was more strongly associated with mental health in retired than non-retired participants, which contributed to the widening differences after 60 years of age.ConclusionsThe strength of cognitive performance in predicting mental and physical health may increase from midlife to early old age, and these changes may be related to SES and age-related transitions, such as retirement.

scholarly journals 1359Changes in work and health of Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal cohort study

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Griffiths ◽  
Luke Sheehan ◽  
Caryn van Vreden ◽  
Dennis Petrie ◽  
Peter Whiteford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Return To Work ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Longitudinal Cohort Study ◽  
Work Loss ◽  
Returning To Work ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Following pandemic-related work loss, some people could return to work as restrictions eased, whilst localised lockdowns resulted in further loss of work. The long-term health effects of work loss within the pandemic remain unexplored, in addition to whether any health effects are persistent upon returning to work. Methods A prospective longitudinal cohort study of 2603 Australians monitored changes in health and work across four surveys during March-December 2020. Outcomes described psychological distress, and mental and physical health. Linear mixed regression models examined associations between changes in health and experiences of work loss, and return to work, over time. Results Losing work during the early pandemic stages was associated with long-term poorer mental health, which began to recover over time. Physical health deteriorated over time, greater for people not working at baseline. Being out of work was associated with poorer mental health, but better physical health. These effects were larger for people that had recently lost work than for people with sustained work loss, and retaining employment played a protective role. Conclusions Work cessation during the pandemic led to poor health outcomes and had long-lasting effects. Returning to work benefits mental health but may reduce physical activity in the short-term. We encourage the provision of accessible mental health supports immediately following loss of work, and for people with prolonged work loss. Key messages Remaining employed whilst not working partly ameliorates negative mental health impacts. Those experiencing persistent work loss, and the newly out-of-work, are most vulnerable to ill mental health.

The impact of economic crisis on mental and physical health in Italy

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (02) ◽  
pp. 103-110
Author(s):  
S. Tomassi ◽  
M. Ruggeri
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Great Recession ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Behavioural Disorders ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Summary Background: The global crisis that began in 2007 has been the most prolonged economic recession since 1929. It has caused worldwide tangible costs in terms of cuts in employment and income, which have been widely recognised also as major social determinants of mental health (1, 2). The so-called “Great Recession” has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable part of society of the whole Eurozone (3). Across Europe, an increase in suicides and deaths rates due to mental and behavioural disorders was reported among those who lost their jobs, houses and economic activities as a consequence of the crisis.

A descriptive study of the prevalence of psychological distress and mental disorders in the Canadian population: comparison between low-income and non-low-income populations

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Caron ◽  
A. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Canadian Community Health Survey ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
High Psychological Distress

Objective This descriptive study compares rates of high psychological distress and mental disorders between low-income and non-low-income populations in Canada. Methods Data were collected through the Canadian Community Health Survey – Mental Health and Well-being (CCHS 1.2), which surveyed 36 984 Canadians aged 15 or over; 17.9% (n = 6620) was classified within the low-income population using the Low Income Measure. The K-10 was used to measure psychological distress and the CIDI for assessing mental disorders. Results One out of 5 Canadians reported high psychological distress, and 1 out of 10 reported at least one of the five mental disorders surveyed or substance abuse. Women, single, separated or divorced respondents, non-immigrants and Aboriginal Canadians were more likely to report suffering from psychological distress or from mental disorders and substance abuse. Rates of reported psychological distress and of mental disorders and substance abuse were much higher in low-income populations, and these differences were statistically consistent in most of the sociodemographic strata. Conclusion This study helps determine the vulnerable groups in mental health for which prevention and promotion programs could be designed.

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