Well-being and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected the lives of everyone. Some studies suggest that the incidence of mental health problems increased during the pandemic. The purpose of the study was to investigate the characteristics of mental well-being and the risk of developing depression among different age groups during the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia.MethodsData from eight waves of the Slovenian panel web survey SI PANDA was used, namely the 1st wave: from 4th to 6th December 2020 (n = 1001); 8th wave: from 12th to 15th March 2021 (n = 1002). The sample included adults aged 18 to 74 years. In all eight waves, we used The World Health Organisation-Five Well Being Index (WHO 5), which is a short self-reported scale of current mental well-being and also has appropriate validity for screening for depression. Data were analyzed using the SPSS25, we applied the Mantel Haenszel linear trend test and the chi square test.ResultsThe results show that from the 1st to the 8th wave of the study (from December 4th 2020 to March 15th 2021), mental well being in the whole sample improved slightly (M H test for trend, p < 0,001), both in men and women, across all age groups. In addition, there was a declining trend in the risk of developing depression among the population aged between 30 and 64 years. However, this decrease was not observed in the 65-74 and 18-29 age groups in the mentioned time frame. In the youngest age group we could observe substantial fluctuations in the risk for depression between research waves, whereas in the eldest population a favourable decline in the risk for depression was not observed.ConclusionsRisk of developing depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia is different among different age groups. Studies suggest that the occurrence of mental health problems increased during the pandemic, but not necessarily in parallel with the level of mental well being experienced by adults, which was also shown in the Slovenian sample.Key messages From December 4th 2020 to March 15th 2021 there was a declining trend in the risk of developing depression among the population aged between 30 and 64 years.The most vulnerable groups for depression symptoms in COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia were 65–74 and 18-29 age groups.