Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in two longitudinal UK population cohorts

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in two longitudinal UK population cohorts

AU - Kwong, Alex S. F.

AU - Pearson, Rebecca M.

AU - Adams, Mark J.

AU - Northstone, Kate

AU - Tilling, Kate

AU - Smith, Daniel

AU - Fawns-Ritchie, Chloe

AU - Bould, Helen

AU - Warne, Naomi

AU - Zammit, Stanley

AU - Gunnell, David J.

AU - Moran, Paul A.

AU - Micali, Nadia

AU - Reichenberg, Abraham

AU - Hickman, Matthew

AU - Rai, Dheeraj

AU - Haworth, Simon

AU - Campbell, Archie

AU - Altschul, Drew

AU - Flaig, Robin

AU - McIntosh, Andrew M.

AU - Lawlor, Deborah A.

AU - Porteous, David

AU - Timpson, Nicholas J.

N1 - The UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and Wellcome Trust (grant number 217065/Z/19/Z), and the University of Bristol, provide core support for ALSPAC. A comprehensive list of grant funding is available on the ALSPAC website (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/external/documents/grant-acknowledgements.pdf). We are extremely grateful to all the families who took part in this study, the midwives for their help in recruiting them, and the whole ALSPAC team, which includes interviewers, computer and laboratory technicians, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers, managers, receptionists and nurses. Part of this data was collected with REDCap, see the REDCap website for details (https://projectredcap.org/resources/ citations/). A.S.F.K., R.M.P., K.T., D.S., S.H., D.A.L. and N.J.T. work in, or are affiliated with, the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, which is funded by the University of Bristol and UK MRC (grants MC_UU_00011/3 and MC_UU_00011/6). A.S.F.K., R.M.P and K.T. are supported by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme, and grants 758813 (Mental Health Intergenerational Transmission [MHINT]) and 669545 from the European Research Council Grant Agreements. This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust through the Wellcome Longitudinal Population Studies COVID-19 Secretariat and Steering Group (UK Longitudinal Population Studies [LPS] COVID-19 coordination, grant 221574/Z/20/Z) and the UK MRC COVID-19 Longitudinal Health and Wealth – National Core Study (LHW-NCS, grant MC_PC_20030). This work was also supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, which provides support for D.J.G., P.A.M., S.Z., D.R. and D.A.L. Generation Scotland received core support from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates (grant CZD/16/6) and the Scottish Funding Council (grant HR03006), and is currently supported by the Wellcome Trust (grant 216767/Z/19/Z). Genotyping of the Generation Scotland samples was carried out by the Genetics Core Laboratory at the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, funded by the MRC and Wellcome Trust (grant 104036/Z/14/Z). This work has made use of the resources provided by the Edinburgh Compute and Data Facility (http:// www.ecdf.ed.ac.uk/). N.J.T. is a Wellcome Trust Investigator (grant 202802/Z/16/Z), is the Principal Investigator of ALSPAC (MRC and Wellcome Trust grant 217065/Z/19/Z) and works within the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Integrative Cancer Epidemiology Programme (grant C18281/A19169). D.A.L. is an NIHR Senior Investigator (grant NF-0616-10102). None of the named funders influenced the study design, data collection, analyses or interpretation of results. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily of any of the funders, the National Health Service or the Department of Health. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

PY - 2021/6

Y1 - 2021/6

N2 - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation measures are likely to have a marked effect on mental health. It is important to use longitudinal data to improve inferences. Aims: To quantify the prevalence of depression, anxiety and mental well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, to identify groups at risk of depression and/or anxiety during the pandemic. Method: Data were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) index generation (n = 2850, mean age 28 years) and parent generation (n = 3720, mean age 59 years), and Generation Scotland (n = 4233, mean age 59 years). Depression was measured with the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire in ALSPAC and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 in Generation Scotland. Anxiety and mental well-being were measured with the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment-7 and the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. Results: Depression during the pandemic was similar to pre-pandemic levels in the ALSPAC index generation, but those experiencing anxiety had almost doubled, at 24% (95% CI 23-26%) compared with a pre-pandemic level of 13% (95% CI 12-14%). In both studies, anxiety and depression during the pandemic was greater in younger members, women, those with pre-existing mental/physical health conditions and individuals in socioeconomic adversity, even when controlling for pre-pandemic anxiety and depression. Conclusions: These results provide evidence for increased anxiety in young people that is coincident with the pandemic. Specific groups are at elevated risk of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is important for planning current mental health provisions and for long-term impact beyond this pandemic.

AB - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation measures are likely to have a marked effect on mental health. It is important to use longitudinal data to improve inferences. Aims: To quantify the prevalence of depression, anxiety and mental well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, to identify groups at risk of depression and/or anxiety during the pandemic. Method: Data were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) index generation (n = 2850, mean age 28 years) and parent generation (n = 3720, mean age 59 years), and Generation Scotland (n = 4233, mean age 59 years). Depression was measured with the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire in ALSPAC and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 in Generation Scotland. Anxiety and mental well-being were measured with the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment-7 and the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. Results: Depression during the pandemic was similar to pre-pandemic levels in the ALSPAC index generation, but those experiencing anxiety had almost doubled, at 24% (95% CI 23-26%) compared with a pre-pandemic level of 13% (95% CI 12-14%). In both studies, anxiety and depression during the pandemic was greater in younger members, women, those with pre-existing mental/physical health conditions and individuals in socioeconomic adversity, even when controlling for pre-pandemic anxiety and depression. Conclusions: These results provide evidence for increased anxiety in young people that is coincident with the pandemic. Specific groups are at elevated risk of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is important for planning current mental health provisions and for long-term impact beyond this pandemic.

KW - ALSPAC

KW - anxiety disorders

KW - COVID-19

KW - depressive disorders

KW - generation Scotland

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85106920865

U2 - 10.1192/bjp.2020.242

DO - 10.1192/bjp.2020.242

M3 - Article

C2 - 33228822

AN - SCOPUS:85106920865

SN - 0007-1250

VL - 218

SP - 334

EP - 343

JO - British Journal of Psychiatry

JF - British Journal of Psychiatry

IS - 6

ER -