scholarly journals Digital phenotyping of complex psychological responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Hull ◽  
Jacob Levine ◽  
Niels Bantilan ◽  
Angel Desai ◽  
Maimuna S. Majumder
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Anxiety Symptom ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Depression Symptom ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Psychological Reactions ◽  
Symptom Scores

Background: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has negatively impacted mortality, economic conditions, and mental health. A large scale study on psychological reactions to the pandemic to inform ongoing population-level symptom tracking and response to treatment is currently lacking.Methods: Average intake scores for standard depression and anxiety symptom scales were tracked from January 1, 2017 to June 9, 2020 for patients seeking treatment from a digital mental health service to gauge the relationship between COVID-19 and self-reported symptoms. We applied natural language processing (NLP) to unstructured therapy transcript data from patients seeking treatment during the height of the pandemic in the United States between March 1, 2020 and June 9, 2020 to identify words associated with COVID-19 mentions. This analysis was used to identify symptoms that were present beyond those assessed by standard depression and anxiety measures.Results: Depression and anxiety symptoms reported by 169,889 patients between January 1, 2017 and June 9, 2020 were identified. There was no detectable change in intake depression symptom scores. Intake anxiety symptom scores increased 1.42 scale points [95% CI: 1.18, 1.65] between March 15, 2020 and April 1, 2020, when scores peaked. In the transcript data of these 169,889 patients, plus an expanded sample of 49,267 patients without symptom reports, term frequency-inverse document frequency (tf-idf) identified 2,377 positively correlated and 661negatively correlated terms that were significantly (FDR<.01) associated with mentions of the virus. These terms were classifiable into 24 symptoms beyond those included in the diagnostic criteria for anxiety or depression.Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic may have increased intake anxiety symptoms for individuals seeking digital mental health treatment. NLP analyses suggest that standard symptom scales for depression and anxiety alone are inadequate to fully assess and track psychological reactions to the pandemic. Symptoms of grief, trauma, obsession-compulsion, agoraphobia, hypochondriasis, panic, and non- suicidal self-injury should be monitored as part of a new COVID-19 Syndrome category.

Who pays the price for high neuroticism? Moderators of longitudinal risks for depression and anxiety

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (10) ◽  
pp. 1794-1805 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Vittengl
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Symptom ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Symptom Intensity ◽  
Physical Limitations

BackgroundHigh neuroticism is a well-established risk for present and future depression and anxiety, as well as an emerging target for treatment and prevention. The current analyses tested the hypothesis that physical, social and socio-economic disadvantages each amplify risks from high neuroticism for longitudinal increases in depression and anxiety symptoms.MethodA national sample of adults (n = 7108) provided structured interview and questionnaire data in the Midlife Development in the United States Survey. Subsamples were reassessed roughly 9 and 18 years later. Time-lagged multilevel models predicted changes in depression and anxiety symptom intensity across survey waves.ResultsHigh neuroticism predicted increases in a depression/anxiety symptom composite across retest intervals. Three disadvantage dimensions – physical limitations (e.g. chronic illness, impaired functioning), social problems (e.g. less social support, more social strain) and low socio-economic status (e.g. less education, lower income) – each moderated risks from high neuroticism for increases in depression and anxiety symptoms. Collectively, high scores on the three disadvantage dimensions amplified symptom increases attributable to high neuroticism by 0.67 standard deviations. In contrast, neuroticism was not a significant risk for increases in symptoms among participants with few physical limitations, few social problems or high socio-economic status.ConclusionsRisks from high neuroticism are not shared equally among adults in the USA. Interventions preventing or treating depression or anxiety via neuroticism could be targeted toward vulnerable subpopulations with physical, social or socio-economic disadvantages. Moreover, decreasing these disadvantages may reduce mental health risks from neuroticism.

StayWell at Home: A Text Messaging Intervention to Counteract Depression and Anxiety during COVID-19 Social Distancing (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Aguilera ◽  
Rosa Hernandez-Ramos ◽  
Alein Yaritza Haro ◽  
Claire Elizabeth Boone ◽  
Tiffany Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
The United States ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
At Home

BACKGROUND Social distancing and stay-at-home orders are critical interventions to slow down person-to-person transmission of COVID-19. While these societal changes help to contain the pandemic, they also have unintended negative consequences, including anxiety and depression. We developed StayWell, a daily skills-based SMS text messaging program, to mitigate COVID-19 related depression and anxiety symptoms among people who speak English and Spanish in the United States. OBJECTIVE This paper describes the changes in the anxiety and depression levels of participants in the StayWell program after 60 days of exposure to skills-based SMS text messages. METHODS We used self-administered, empirically supported web-based questionnaires to assess the demographic and clinical characteristics of StayWell participants. Anxiety and depression were measured using the 2-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-2) scale and the 8-item Patient Health Quesstionanire-8 (PHQ-8) scale at baseline and 60-day timepoints. We used paired t-tests to detect the change in PHQ-8 and GAD-2 scores from baseline to follow-up measured 60 days later. RESULTS The analytic sample includes 193 participants who completed both the baseline and 60-day exit questionnaires. At the 60-day time point, there were statistically significant reductions in both PHQ-8 and GAD-2 scores from baseline. We found an average reduction of -1.72 (95% CI: -2.35, -1.09) in PHQ-8 scores and -0.48 (95% CI: -0.71, -0.25) in GAD-2 scores. This translated to an 18.5% and 17.2% reduction in mean PHQ-8 scores and GAD-2, respectively. CONCLUSIONS StayWell is a low-intensity, cost-effective, and accessible population-level mental health intervention. Participation in StayWell focused on COVID-19 mental health coping skills and was related to improved depression and anxiety symptoms. In addition to improvements in outcomes, we found high levels of engagement during the 60-day intervention period. Text messaging interventions could serve as an important public health tool for disseminating strategies to manage mental health. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04473599 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/23592

scholarly journals Trends in depression & anxiety symptom severity among mental health service attendees during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Saunders ◽  
Joshua Eusty Jonathan Buckman ◽  
Judy Leibowitz ◽  
John Cape ◽  
Stephen Pilling
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Anxiety Symptom ◽  
Psychological Treatment ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Treatment Services ◽  
Symptom Scores ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Community Transmission ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Residual Confounding

BackgroundGeneral population surveys have shown that some groups, particularly young women experienced increased distress during nationally mandated restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19. However, there has been limited research on such trends among people with pre-existing mental health conditions, leaving mental health services ill equipped to plan for currents and future lockdowns.MethodsMean weekly scores on the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 between 01/01/2020-22/06/2020 (n=9,538 individuals) for all patients of two psychological treatment services in London, were compared to mean weekly scores from the same time periods in 2017-2019 (n=37,849). The proportion of scores which were above the clinical thresholds for ‘caseness’ each week were compared, and scores between groups based on gender, age group, and ethnicity, were also compared. ResultsConfirmed community transmission in the UK (26/02/2020-03/03/2020) and the announcement of the national ‘lockdown’ (23/03/2020) were associated with significant increases in anxiety symptom scores. ‘Lockdown’ was associated with a decrease in depression scores. These changes were not maintained during lockdown. Significant increases in depression and anxiety were observed at week 23, as restrictions were eased.LimitationsThis was an exploratory analysis in two services only. Residual confounding and selection biases cannot be ruled out.ConclusionsDifferences in the weekly average symptom scores were short-term; they did not continue throughout ‘lockdown’ as might have been expected, except among older people. Replication of this study in other settings and investigating the potential benefits of more regular reviews or more intensive treatments for older adults seeking support, are warranted.

scholarly journals Prevalence trends of depression and anxiety symptoms in adults with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes 1995–2019: The HUNT studies, Norway

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Bojanić ◽  
Erik R. Sund ◽  
Hege Sletvold ◽  
Ottar Bjerkeset
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Diseases ◽  
Anxiety Symptom ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Depression Symptom ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Symptom Prevalence ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Symptoms of depression and anxiety are common in adults with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and diabetes mellitus (DM). The literature on depression and anxiety in CVDs and DM populations is extensive; however, studies examining these relationships over time, directly compared to adults without these conditions, are still lacking. This study aimed to investigate trends in depression and anxiety symptom prevalence over more than 20 years in adults with CVDs and DM compared to the general population. Methods We used data from the population-based Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), Norway, including adults (≥ 20 years) from three waves; the HUNT2 (1995–97; n = 65,228), HUNT3 (2006–08; n = 50,800) and HUNT4 (2017–19; n = 56,042). Depressive and anxiety symptom prevalence was measured independently by the Hospital Anxiety and Depressions scale (HADS) in sex-stratified samples. We analyzed associations of these common psychological symptoms with CVDs and DM over time using multi-level random-effects models, accounting for repeated measurements and individual variation. Results Overall, the CVDs groups reported higher levels of depression than those free of CVDs in all waves of the study. Further, depressive and anxiety symptom prevalence in adults with and without CVDs and DM declined from HUNT2 to HUNT4, whereas women reported more anxiety than men. Positive associations of depression and anxiety symptoms with CVDs and DM in HUNT2 declined over time. However, associations of CVDs with depression symptoms remained over time in men. Moreover, in women, DM was associated with increased depression symptom risk in HUNT2 and HUNT4. Conclusions Depression and anxiety symptoms are frequent in adults with CVDs. Further, our time trend analysis indicates that anxiety and depression are differentially related to CVDs and DM and sex. This study highlights the importance of awareness and management of psychological symptoms in CVDs and DM populations.

scholarly journals Immigration Policy Vulnerability Linked to Adverse Mental Health Among Latino Day Laborers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alein Y. Haro-Ramos ◽  
Hector P. Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Day Laborers ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Latino Day Laborers

AbstractLatino day laborers in the United States are socially and economically vulnerable due to exclusionary immigration policies. Using data from a multi-mode survey, we examine the relationship between immigration policy legal vulnerability and mental health outcomes among 138 Latino, male day laborers (mean age = 45.65, SD = 12.05). Multivariable linear and logistic regression models separately estimated the effect of legal vulnerability, as measured by the Perceived Immigration Policy Effects Scale, on anxiety and depression symptoms and a positive depression and anxiety screening, respectively. Approximately 26.1% and 27.9% of day laborers reported depression and anxiety symptoms, respectively. In each adjusted model, we find a positive relationship between legal vulnerability and adverse mental health. Immigration policy legal vulnerability is associated with more depression and anxiety symptoms among Latino day laborers. Policies to reduce legal vulnerability, such as pathways to citizenship and employment authorization, may support Latino day laborers' mental health outcomes.

scholarly journals Mental Health and Behavior of College Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Mobile Smartphone and Ecological Momentary Assessment Study - Part II (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dante Mack ◽  
Alex DaSilva ◽  
Courtney Rogers ◽  
Elin Hedlund ◽  
Eilis Murphy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sedentary Time ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Health Changes ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Mobile Smartphone

BACKGROUND Since late 2019, the lives of people across the globe have been disrupted by COVID-19. Millions of people have become infected; billions have been continually asked or required by local and national governments to change their behavioral patterns. Previous research on the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that it is associated with large-scale behavioral and mental health changes, but few studies have been able to track these changes with frequent, near real-time sampling or compare these changes to previous years of data for the same individuals. OBJECTIVE By combining mobile phone sensing and self-reported mental health data in a cohort of college-aged students enrolled in a longitudinal study, we seek to understand the behavioral and mental health impacts associated with the pandemic, measured by search term interest in "coronavirus" and "covid fatigue" across the United States. METHODS Behaviors such as the number of locations visited, distance traveled, duration of phone usage, number of phone unlocks, sleep duration, and sedentary time were measured using the StudentLife mobile smartphone sensing app. Depression and anxiety were assessed using weekly self-reported Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs), including the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). Participants were 217 undergraduate students. Differences in behaviors and self-reported mental health collected during the Spring 2020 term, as compared to previous terms in the same cohort, were modeled using mixed linear models. RESULTS Linear mixed models observed differences in phone usage, sleep, sedentary time and the number of locations visited associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In further models, these behaviors were strongly associated with increased interest in covid fatigue. When mental health metrics (e.g., depression and anxiety) were added to the previous measures (week of term, number of locations visited, phone usage, sedentary time), both anxiety and depression (_P_<.001) were significantly associated with interest in covid fatigue. Notably, these behavioral and mental health changes are consistent with those observed around the initial implementation of COVID-19 lockdowns in the spring of 2020 [@Huckins2020]. CONCLUSIONS In the initial lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, people spent more time on their phones, were more sedentary, visited fewer locations, and exhibited increased symptoms of anxiety and depression. As the pandemic persisted through the spring, people continued to exhibit very similar changes in both mental health and behaviors. Though unsurprising, understanding these large-scale shifts in mental health and behaviors is critical in disrupting the negative consequences to mental health during the ongoing pandemic. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/8yt4x

scholarly journals Impact of replacing sedentary behaviour with other movement behaviours on depression and anxiety symptoms: a prospective cohort study in the UK Biobank

BMC Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Kandola ◽  
B. del Pozo Cruz ◽  
D. P. J. Osborn ◽  
B. Stubbs ◽  
K. W. Choi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sedentary Behaviour ◽  
Anxiety Symptom ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Vigorous Activity ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Lower Odds ◽  
Symptom Scores ◽  
Light Activity

Abstract Background Sedentary behaviour is potentially a modifiable risk factor for depression and anxiety disorders, but findings have been inconsistent. To assess the associations of sedentary behaviour with depression and anxiety symptoms and estimate the impact of replacing daily time spent in sedentary behaviours with sleep, light, or moderate to vigorous physical activity, using compositional data analysis methods. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study in 60,235 UK Biobank participants (mean age: 56; 56% female). Exposure was baseline daily movement behaviours (accelerometer-assessed sedentary behaviour and physical activity, and self-reported total sleep). Outcomes were depression and anxiety symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalised Anxiety Disorders-7) at follow-up. Results Replacing 60 min of sedentary behaviour with light activity, moderate-to-vigorous activity, and sleep was associated with lower depression symptom scores by 1.3% (95% CI, 0.4–2.1%), 12.5% (95% CI, 11.4–13.5%), and 7.6% (95% CI, 6.9–8.4%), and lower odds of possible depression by 0.95 (95% CI, 0.94–0.96), 0.75 (95% CI, 0.74–0.76), and 0.90 (95% CI, 0.90–0.91) at follow-up. Replacing 60 min of sedentary behaviour with moderate-to-vigorous activity and sleep was associated with lower anxiety symptom scores by 6.6% (95% CI, 5.5–7.6%) and 4.5% (95% CI, 3.7–5.2%), and lower odds of meeting the threshold for a possible anxiety disorder by 0.90 (95% CI, 0.89–0.90) and 0.97 (95%CI, 0.96–0.97) at follow-up. However, replacing 60 min of sedentary behaviour with light activity was associated with higher anxiety symptom scores by 4.5% (95% CI, 3.7–5.3%) and higher odds of a possible anxiety disorder by 1.07 (95% CI, 1.06–1.08). Conclusions Sedentary behaviour is a risk factor for increased depression and anxiety symptoms in adults. Replacing sedentary behaviour with moderate-to-vigorous activity may reduce mental health risks, but more work is necessary to clarify the role of light activity.

scholarly journals COVID-19 pandemic related long-term chronic stress on the prevalence of depression and anxiety in the general population

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian Qi ◽  
Ting Hu ◽  
Qi-Qi Ge ◽  
Xiao-Na Zhou ◽  
Jia-Mei Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
General Population ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Factors Associated

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has lasted for more than 1 year, causing far-reaching and unprecedented changes in almost all aspects of society. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression and anxiety, and explore the factors associated with it. Methods A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted to assess mental health problems from February 2 to February 9, 2021 by using patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7). The insomnia severity index (ISI), demographic data and COVID-19 related variables were measured by a self-designed questionnaire. The factors associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms were identified by Pearson chi-square test and binary logistic regression analysis. Results In the study that 1171 participants enrolled, the overall prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms among general people was 22.6 and 21.4% respectively in the present study. Living alone was a potential risk factor for depressive symptoms, while regular exercises was a potential protective factor. The prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms was significantly associated with the severity of insomnia symptoms and the negative feelings about pandemic. Conclusion COVID-19 pandemic- related chronic stress has brought about profound impacts on long-term mental health in the general population. The level of insomnia and a negative attitude towards the pandemic are significantly correlated with unfavorable mental health. However, we failed to found a significant association of age and gender with the mental health symptoms, although they were recognized as well-established risk factors during the outbreak by some other studies. This discrepancy may be because the acute and chronic effects of the pandemic are influenced by different factors, which reminds that more attention should be paid to the intrinsic psychological factors and physical reactions towards COVID-19.

scholarly journals Police Encounters as Stressors: Associations with Depression and Anxiety across Race

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312199812
Author(s):  
Sirry Alang ◽  
Donna McAlpine ◽  
Malcolm McClain
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Depressed Mood ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Data ◽  
Police Brutality ◽  
Urban Residents ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Police Encounters ◽  
The Relationship

Stress researchers have emphasized the relationship between social stress and mental health. However, research investigating police brutality as a stressor is scarce. The authors conceptualize police brutality as a stressor, examining racial variation in its effects on mental health. Data came from the Survey of the Health of Urban Residents in the United States ( n = 4,389). Negative encounters with the police were found to be associated with depressed mood and anxiety. The relationship between encounters with the police and depressed mood was stronger among Black respondents and Latinxs compared with Whites. Regardless of personal encounters with the police, the anticipatory stress of police brutality—concern that one might become a victim of police brutality—was associated with depression and anxiety. These findings highlight police brutality as an anticipatory stressor and have implications for whiteness as a resource that protects from the stress of negative police encounters.

scholarly journals When the Bough Breaks: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Mental Health Symptoms in Mothers of Young Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Racine ◽  
Rachel Eirich ◽  
Jessica Cookee ◽  
Jenney Zhu ◽  
Paolo Pador ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Maternal Mental Health ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Study Quality ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Meta Analyses

Parents have experienced considerable challenges and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may impact their well-being. This meta-analysis sought to identify: 1) the prevalence of depression and anxiety in parents of young children (&lt; age 5) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2) sociodemographic (e.g., parent age, minority status) and methodological moderators (e.g., study quality) that explain heterogeneity among studies. A systematic search was conducted across four databases from January 1st, 2020 to March 3st, 2021. A total of 18 non-overlapping studies (9,101 participants), all focused on maternal mental health, met inclusion criteria. Random-effect meta-analyses were conducted. Pooled prevalence estimates for clinically significant depression and anxiety symptoms for mothers of young children during the COVID-19 pandemic were 27.4% (95% CI: 21.5-34.3) and 43.5% (95% CI:27.5-60.9), respectively. Prevalence of clinically elevated depression and anxiety symptoms were higher in Europe and North America and among older mothers. Clinically elevated depressive symptoms were lower in studies with a higher percentage of racial and ethnic minority individuals. In comparison, clinically elevated anxiety symptoms were higher among studies of low study quality and in samples with highly educated mothers. Policies and resources targeting improvements in maternal mental health are essential.

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