Longitudinal evidence on the development of socioeconomic inequalities in mental health due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway

Bjørn-Atle Reme,Jonathan Wörn,Vegard Skirbekk

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-06616-7

Bjørn-Atle Reme, Jonathan Wörn + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06616-7

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Journal: Scientific Reports	Publication Date: Mar 9, 2022
Citations: 23	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health

Abstract

The economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are unequally distributed. A growing literature finds evidence that those with low socioeconomic status have carried a greater burden in terms of both unemployment and infection risk. Against this background, it is natural to also expect increasing socioeconomic inequalities in mental health. We report from a population-based longitudinal study, assessing the mental health of more than 100,000 Norwegian adults during a period of more than 20 years, and into the COVID-19 pandemic. We find substantial, and equally high, increases in depressive symptoms across socioeconomic status. In addition, we show that the increase was particularly strong among women and those with lower levels of depressive symptoms prior to COVID-19.

Highlights

The economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are unequally distributed
The stronger gradient among women is driven by higher levels of depressive symptoms among women with lower education, while the difference between educational groups is smaller among men
Existing literature showed that those with low socioeconomic status (SES) disproportionally carried the burden of economic hardship and health risk during COVID-19

Summary

Introduction

The economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are unequally distributed. A study on life satisfaction among Norwegian lower secondary school students reported less socioeconomic inequality during the period of closed schools in April and May 2020, compared to other assessments in 2020 taken prior to the introduction of measures to mitigate the spread of Sars-COV216. Against this background of inconclusive evidence and limited sample sizes in previous studies, we use longitudinal population level data from more than 100,000 mothers and fathers from Norway to provide evidence on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected socioeconomic inequalities in mental health. Given that women on average have a higher risk of experiencing depression or reporting depressive symptoms than men[20], we further take into account that the pandemic might affect mental health inequalities differently for men and women

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