Adverse Mental Health Impact Research Articles

Gender and care: Does gender modify the mental health impact of adolescent care?

Young carers are people aged 25 years or less who deliver unpaid informal care to a family or a friend living with a physical or mental illness, a disability, problems related to alcohol/substance use or an elderly relative. Young caring has negative impacts on the mental health of adolescents. Gender patterns underpinning this association have not been explored. We examined gender differences in the mental health effect of informal care among Australian adolescents. We used data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Participants were categorised as non-carers or young carers at 14/15 years old. Although we acknowledge that gender is non-binary, information about gender identity was not collected in LSAC during adolescence. We used the study child's sex as reported at age 14/15 years to categorise adolescents as boys or girls. Mental health was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K10) at ages 18/19. We conducted multivariable linear regression models and assessed effect modification by fitting an interaction term between gender and informal care. Informal care was associated with poorer mental health among boys (β: 0.97, 95%CI: -0.01, 1.95), and girls (β: 1.66, 95%CI: 0.63, 2.69). Overall, in comparison to boy non-carers, girl carers had the highest level of distress (β: 4.47; 95%CI: 3.44, 5.51), yielding high predicted scores of K10. While the mental health effects of young care were stronger for girls, there was limited evidence of effect modification as the difference in mental health disparities due to informal care between girls and boys was small (β: 0.69) with high uncertainty levels (95%CI: -0.72, 2.11). Psychological distress scores were higher for girls than boys in both caring categories. Support strategies should focus on identifying and supporting boy and girl carers to reduce the adverse mental health impact of young informal care.

Sex differences in changes of depressive symptoms among older adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from two longitudinal cohorts

BackgroundMajor concerns about the adverse mental health impact of the rapidly spread COVID-19 pandemic have been raised. Previous studies on changes of depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic have yielded inconsistent results regarding the sex differences. Since women have higher depressive symptoms even without the pandemic, it is essential to consider the pre-existing change of depressive symptoms of a similar period to discern the effect of the pandemic on depression. This study aimed to evaluate sex differences in depressive symptoms before and during the pandemic.MethodsData from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; waves 13 to 15) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA; wave 8 to COVID-19 wave 2) were analyzed. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the 8-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. According to the time of COVID-19 outbreak in the US and the UK, the intervals from waves 13 to 14 surveys of the HRS and from waves 8 to 9 surveys of the ELSA were employed as pre-pandemic periods to control for the pre-existing depressive symptoms, respectively. Changes of CES-D scores during the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods were assessed by linear mixed models.ResultsNine thousand, seven hundred thirty-seven participants (mean age: 66.7 ± 10.7 years) from the HRS and 5,098 participants (mean age: 68.7 ± 10.0 years) from the ELSA were included. CES-D scores among women were significantly higher than those among men at all waves in both cohorts. During the pre-pandemic period, no significant sex difference on changes of CES-D scores was detected in either the HRS or the ELSA. During the pandemic period, CES-D scores were increased in both men and women and the sex differences in CES-D increments of the two cohorts were both significant. Enlarged sex differences were demonstrated in increments of CES-D scores during the pandemic period.ConclusionsOur results suggest women suffered from worse depressive symptoms in response to the pandemic, although the changes of depression were similar between men and women before the pandemic. These findings underscore the necessity to support the vulnerable populations, especially women, to manage the distress brought by the pandemic and maintain optimal mental health status.

Changing Patient Profile in a Psychiatric Hospital During COVID Pandemic: A Comparison With Pre-COVID State

AimsCOVID-19 pandemic has a massively adverse mental health impact and people with pre-existing psychiatric illnesses are one of the most severely affected groups. We intended to study the changes in the patient profile in a psychiatric hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, comparing it to the period just before the pandemic.MethodsConsecutive patients (n = 210) admitted to psychiatric ward under one team during COVID-19 pandemic (February 2020 to January 2022) were compared with patients (n = 234) admitted in the immediate pre-pandemic period (January 2017 to January 2020). Demographic (age, gender, and ethnicity) and clinical variables (diagnosis, admission days, Mental Health Act status, risk to self and others) were collected from the electronic patient records and analysed.ResultsDuring the pandemic monthly admission rates have gone up by 38.1% over the base rate of 6.32/month. There was no difference in the mean age at admission; or the proportion of patients aged 18–40 years or above in the pre-pandemic and pandemic groups. Similarly the gender composition of patients in the two periods was comparable. Proportion of patients from Asian background increased from 7.7% to 16.8% during pandemic period (p < 0.05). The number of hospital days decreased from 31.97 ± 45.8 days in the pre-pandemic period to 22.44 ± 25.1 days during pandemic (p < 0.05). Along with increased admission rates, it suggested a rapid flow of the admission and discharge during the pandemic. Considering diagnostic composition between pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods, psychotic (27.8% v 26.7%) and mood disorders (18.8% v 23.3%) were the predominant; and substance related disorders (20.5% v 16.7%) were the most common comorbidities. Risk to self was associated with 84.3% admissions during the pandemic compared to 78.6% in the pre-pandemic period; however, risk to others was noted in 13.8% v 22.2% (p < 0.01) respectively. There was no difference in proportions getting admitted under Mental Health Act or being discharged with Community Treatment Order. Interestingly, proportions of patients getting discharged under the care of Home Treatment Team decreased from 31.1% pre-pandemic to 16.5% during pandemic period (p < 0.005).ConclusionThere is an increase in admission rate and decrease in the number of admission days, suggestive of increased demand of clinical resources during pandemic. This could be reflective of the stressful situation and adverse impact on mental health in the pandemic period. As the impact on mental health is expected to continue, there is a need for greater resources both in community and inpatient psychiatric services.

The interplay between partisanship, risk perception, and mental distress during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

ABSTRACT COVID-19 is a profoundly partisan issue in the U.S., with increasing polarization of the Republicans’ and Democrats’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and their precautionary actions to reduce virus transmission. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether and how partisan gaps in many aspects of the pandemic are linked to mental health, which has increasingly been a major concern. This study examined the association between political partisanship and mental health by assessing the mediating and moderating relationships between risk perception, expected infection severity of COVID-19, and partisanship in terms of mental health during the early stages of the pandemic. The data were drawn from a cross-sectional web survey conducted between March 20 and 30, 2020, with a sample of U.S. adults (N = 4,327). Of those participants, 38.9% and 29.6% were Democrats and Republicans, respectively. The results indicate that Democrats were more likely to experience COVID-induced mental distress than Republicans, and higher risk perception and expected infection severity were associated with mental distress. Furthermore, risk perception and expected infection severity of COVID-19 mediated approximately 24%–34% of the associations between political partisanship and mental distress. Finally, the adverse mental health impact of risk perception and expected infection severity appeared to be much stronger for Republicans than Democrats. The findings suggest that political partisanship is a key factor to understanding mental health consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S.

Mental health impact on children of forcible home invasions in the occupied Palestinian territory

A new report by three leading Israeli human rights organisations—Physicians for Human Rights Israel, Yesh Din and Breaking the Silence—documents the grievous mental health repercussions, including on children, of the...

Psychopathology in Patients Diagnosed with Sars Cov 2: a Brief Report

Background: COVID-19 is the newest and one of the most important infectious disease that became a pandemic during last year (2020) and it is caused by SARS-CoV-2 (human coronavirus), which first was diagnosed in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 and spreaded globally during 2020 changing our lifestyle worldwide. To evaluate the development risk of psychiatric symptoms in patients who manifested COVID 19 symptoms during the quarantine period acute phase of the disease and the aggravation of some patients` symptoms after this infectious disease. Methods: We have conducted a study on 28 patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 and who have received psychopathological follow up during the quarantine through telemedicine, patients selected for a period of 3 month. Results: The average age of the patients was of 46,89 years old, with an associated standard deviation of 18,68 years and with a predominance in female gender (60,7%). 85,4% of the subjects developed psychopathologies, depending on the type of the experienced quarantine (especially home quarantine – sig = 0,042) or on the presence of sensory disorders as symptomatology (sig.=0,046). Conclusions: Adverse mental health impact has been reported in patients with SARS-CoV-2, that could be related either to the intensity of the COVID 19 symptoms (headache, cough, fever, gastrointestinal disorders, dyspnea, anosmia and ageusia) or to the disruption of personal and social healthcare and lifestyle.

Complementing mobile measurements with Walking Interviews: a case study on personal exposure of commuters in Chennai, India

ABSTRACT When commuters move around the city they are exposed to different environmental stressors, of which air and noise pollution have an especially adverse physical and mental health impact. Most exposure research uses sensor data (stationary or wearable) or closed questionnaires to measure personal exposure. However, these methods do not give insight into on-site perceptions of exposed individuals and their related behaviour. To address this, we discuss (1) existing methods to research perceived and measured exposure in transit and (2) introduce a novel mixed-method approach, which we tested in a case study in Chennai, India. We used Walking Interviews and GPS-tracking to investigate perceptions and behaviour regarding air and noise pollution on the move and combined it with data of wearable sensors. The results show that the perception of air and noise pollution is highly context-dependent. This mixed-method approach is advantageous for an investigation of perceived and objective exposure and the related behavioural patterns while moving around the city. Such qualitative and quantitative exposure data of commuters can be spatially visualized and communicated to decision-makers with help of qualitative geographic information system (GIS) approaches. We argue that the potential of this mixed-methods approach to support healthier daily commutes in urban areas should be further elaborated in urban and transport-related studies.

Use of Asynchronous Virtual Mental Health Resources for COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Stress Among the General Population in Canada: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in profound mental health impacts among the general population worldwide. As many in-person mental health support services have been suspended or transitioned online to facilitate physical distancing, there have been numerous calls for the rapid expansion of asynchronous virtual mental health (AVMH) resources. These AVMH resources have great potential to provide support for people coping with negative mental health impacts associated with the pandemic; however, literature examining use prior to COVID-19 illustrates that the uptake of these resources is consistently low.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to examine the use of AVMH resources in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic among the general population and among a participant subgroup classified as experiencing an adverse mental health impact related to the pandemic.MethodsData from this study were drawn from the first wave of a large multiwave cross-sectional monitoring survey, distributed from May 14 to 29, 2020. Participants (N=3000) were adults living in Canada. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample, and bivariate cross-tabulations were used to examine the relationships between the use of AVMH resources and self-reported indicators of mental health that included a range of emotional and coping-related responses to the pandemic. Univariate and fully adjusted multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine associations between sociodemographic and health-related characteristics and use of AVMH resources in the subgroup of participants who reported experiencing one or more adverse mental health impacts identified in the set of self-reported mental health indicators.ResultsAmong the total sample, 2.0% (n=59) of participants reported accessing AVMH resources in the prior 2 weeks to cope with stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the highest rates of use among individuals who reported self-harm (n=5, 10.4%) and those who reported coping “not well” with COVID-19–related stress (n=22, 5.5%). Within the subgroup of 1954 participants (65.1% of the total sample) who reported an adverse mental health impact related to COVID-19, 54 (2.8%) reported use of AVMH resources. Individuals were more likely to have used AVMH resources if they had reported receiving in-person mental health supports, were connecting virtually with a mental health worker or counselor, or belonged to a visible minority group.ConclusionsDespite substantial government investment into AVMH resources, uptake is low among both the general population and individuals who may benefit from the use of these resources as a means of coping with the adverse mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further research is needed to improve our understanding of the barriers to use.

Adverse Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown in Individuals With Tourette Syndrome in Italy: An Online Survey.

During the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Italy, an online survey was launched via a local patient advocacy website to investigate mental health issues in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome (TS). Respondents were parents, who were asked to report on their child's general health, tics, comorbidities/problems, pharmacological treatment/psychotherapy, symptom variations, and daily routine, as well as on their family's health and work experiences during the pandemic. Two hundred thirty-eight people participated in the survey, 203 females and 35 males. Our findings indicate that, in the time window of 4–6 weeks after the beginning of the COVID-19-related lockdown, 67% of individuals with TS developed a relevant worsening of the overall clinical condition as rated by their parents. An improvement or no variation of the clinical picture was reported in 20.5 and 6.7% of cases, respectively. Most worsened symptoms included tics, hyperactivity, rage attacks, obsessions/compulsions, and anxiety. Of the subjects experiencing a clinical worsening, the majority (51.76%) showed variations across two to five symptom domains. No association was found between symptom variation and family demographics or health and economic issues specifically related to the lockdown. The current COVID-19 pandemic is exerting a considerable impact on the mental health of young individuals with TS by worsening both tics and emotional and behavioral symptoms.

Abstract 225: The Adverse Mental Health Impact of Emergency Medical Services Related Public Health Messaging for Cardiac Arrest Patients During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Introduction: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, various emergency medical services (EMS) and health agencies in New York City (NYC), and other hard-hit cities, issued new guidelines terminating resuscitation efforts in cases of out of hospital cardiac arrests (CA). This guidance was issued to protect the health and safety of EMS providers, to conserve hospital resources, and to ensure optimal use of equipment to save the greatest number of lives. However, the psychological impact of this public health messaging on existing CA survivors has not yet been studied. Methods: Between 5/15 - 5/18 of 2020, a month after the NYC COVID-19 pandemic peak, CA survivors from an ongoing, prospective study, were invited to participate in a telephone-based assessment of the pandemic’s impact on psychological and behavioral dimensions. COVID-19 anxiety was assessed using the 7-item Perceived Coronavirus Threat Questionnaire (PCTQ; e.g., “I am stressed around other people because I worry I’ll catch the coronavirus;” range 1-42). Survivors’ self-reported fear and uncertainty in receiving immediate life-saving care in the event of a CA due to recent public health messaging was assessed on a 5-point Likert-scale (Not at all—extremely). Results: Of 100 approached, 75 CA survivors participated (53% male; age 61±15 years; 44% non-Hispanic White, 20% Black, and 31% Latinx). The majority, 63 of 75 (84%), had no COVID-19 symptoms or had not been tested. The median COVID-19 anxiety score was 28 (interquartile range [IQR]: 21-37). Participants who were “very to extremely” afraid that emergency care would not come if they had another CA made up 45% (34 of 75; 95% C.I: 34-57) and scored 1 SD higher (mean±SD 34±6 vs 23±9, p<0.001) on COVID-19 anxiety scores than those with little fear about the availability of emergency care. The association was significant after adjusting for age, race, sex, and COVID-19 testing status (Odds Ratio = 1.17; 95% CI: [1.079, 1.274]; p<0.001). Conclusion: A better understanding of the potential psychological impact of disaster-related public health messaging is needed to prevent campaigns from causing additional distress and contributing to poor mental health and quality of life.

Self-Compassion Buffers the Adverse Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19-Related Threats: Results From a Cross-Sectional Survey at the First Peak of Hong Kong's Outbreak.

COVID-19 has brought tremendous and abrupt threats to various aspects of our daily lives, from school and work to interpersonal relationships. Self-compassion is put forth as a salutogenic perspective on oneself that buffers the adverse mental health impacts of these threats. During the peak of a local outbreak in Hong Kong in Spring 2020, 761 participants completed questionnaires on self-compassion, perceived threats, as well as perceived benefits and psychological distress. Controlling for demographic variables, negative indicators of self-compassion (aka self-coldness) was found to intensify the impacts of threats on psychological distress. The positive indicators of self-compassion also moderated the link between threats and perceived benefits, such that perceived benefits tend to be less related to threats in participants with higher self-compassion. Our findings highlight the impacts of both positive and negative indicators of self-compassion on the adjustment to such unprecedented challenges, and point to the possibility of enhancing people's resilience through fostering self-compassion and alleviating self-coldness.

Mount Sinai's Center for Stress, Resilience and Personal Growth as a model for responding to the impact of COVID-19 on health care workers

The COVID-19 pandemic is anticipated to have a prolonged adverse mental health impact on health care workers (HCWs). The supportive services implemented by the Mount Sinai Hospital System in New York for its workers culminated in the founding of the Mount Sinai Center for Stress, Resilience, and Personal Growth (CSRPG). CSRPG is an innovative mental health and resilience-building service that includes strong community engagement, self- and clinician-administered screening, peer co-led resilience training workshops, and care matching. The long-term sustainability of similar programs across the United States will require federal funding.

Challenges and management of neurological and psychiatric manifestations in SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) patients.

COVID-19 is a pandemic caused by human coronavirus (HCoV) SARS-CoV-2, which originated in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 and spread globally during 2020. Due to the difficulty of clinical decision-making during this period, our study group reviewed current literature focusing on the neurological and psychiatric aspects of COVID-19. Despite the knowledge on this newly discovered virus which is constantly evolving, different pieces of evidence reported an association between COVID-19 and neurological symptoms like headache, dizziness, taste and smell disorders and complications involving the nervous system eventually triggered by the pathologic processes elicited by SARS-CoV-2. It seems that younger patients are less prone to develop severe forms of COVID-19. However, neurological signs have been reported in paediatric patients as well, and in some cases, the infection presented neurological sequelae. Furthermore, children with particular neurological diseases or treated with specific drugs (e.g. immune-suppressant therapies) must be carefully monitored during this pandemic. Neurologists should be aware of the main drug–drug interactions and the neurological side effects of COVID-19 treatments. Notably, adverse mental health impact has been reported in patients with SARS-CoV-2, which could be related either to the social strain or to the eventual neurotropic effects of the virus, which in other infections have been proven to promote the onset of psychiatric symptoms. Further, psychiatric population may be more vulnerable to the infection and at higher risk for adverse outcomes.

Toxic trauma: Household water quality experiences predict posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms during the Flint, Michigan, water crisis

We examined the relationship between perceptions of household tap water quality and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the Flint, Michigan, water crisis in 2015–2016. The Speak to Your Health Community Survey is a community-based participatory component of the health surveillance system in Genesee County, Michigan. Perceptions of household tap water quality was added to the 2015–2016 survey wave after inadequate official response to concerns over water quality after a change in Flint's municipal water supply. Respondents (N = 786) also completed a brief PTSD screening tool. We examined the relationships of perceived household tap water quality to PTSD symptomatology and positive screening criteria for PTSD, controlling for sociodemographics. Perceived tap water quality predicted PTSD symptomatology and positive screening criteria for PTSD, independent of sociodemographics. The adverse mental health impact of municipal toxic contamination may generalize to other similar environmental contamination incidents.

Ongoing adverse mental health impact of the earthquake sequence in Christchurch, New Zealand

In September 2010 Christchurch, New Zealand, was struck by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake, followed by a prolonged sequence of significant aftershocks including a fatal aftershock in February 2011. Christchurch City has experienced widespread damage, ongoing disruption and building demolitions resulting in many difficulties for the residents of the Christchurch area. We explore what impact the earthquakes have had on the mental and physical health of a random sample of 50-year-olds who live in the Christchurch area. The 295 participants were selected from the electoral rolls for participation in the CHALICE study, a longitudinal study of ageing. Self-reported health status was assessed using the standardised Short Form 36 version 2 health survey (SF-36v2), a 36-item questionnaire, and results from the eight subscales compared to a national health survey. Mood disorders were assessed and the results were compared to other local and national studies. Since the onset of the earthquakes and throughout the study period, participating middle-aged Christchurch residents have mean SF-36v2 scores significantly lower than population norms in the mental health, vitality, social functioning and role-emotional subscales (Cohen's d ranged from -0.270 to -0.357, all p < 0.001), while there was no evidence of reduced physical health. Rates of current major depressive disorder were 7.5% in the earthquake survivors compared to 5.1% and 3.7% in other historical, local and national surveys. Similarly, bipolar disorder prevalence was 2.8% in the earthquake survivors compared to 2.2% and 1.4% in other studies. Eighteen months after the first earthquake the significant adverse impact on mental health clearly continues. The ongoing provision of additional mental health services and consideration of these adverse mental health effects in relation to other social policies remains necessary and fundamental.

Adverse childhood experiences and mental health in young adults: a longitudinal survey

BackgroundAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been consistently linked to psychiatric difficulties in children and adults. However, the long-term effects of ACEs on mental health during the early adult years have been understudied. In addition, many studies are methodologically limited by use of non-representative samples, and few studies have investigated gender and racial differences. The current study relates self-reported lifetime exposure to a range of ACEs in a community sample of high school seniors to three mental health outcomes–depressive symptoms, drug abuse, and antisocial behavior–two years later during the transition to adulthood.MethodsThe study has a two-wave, prospective design. A systematic probability sample of high school seniors (N = 1093) was taken from communities of diverse socioeconomic status. They were interviewed in person in 1998 and over the telephone two years later. Gender and racial differences in ACE prevalence were tested with chi-square tests. Each mental health outcome was regressed on one ACE, controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and SES to obtain partially standardized regression coefficients.ResultsMost ACEs were strongly associated with all three outcomes. The cumulative effect of ACEs was significant and of similar magnitude for all three outcomes. Except for sex abuse/assault, significant gender differences in the effects of single ACEs on depression and drug use were not observed. However, boys who experienced ACEs were more likely to engage in antisocial behavior early in young adulthood than girls who experienced similar ACEs. Where racial/ethnic differences existed, the adverse mental health impact of ACEs on Whites was consistently greater than on Blacks and Hispanics.ConclusionOur sample of young adults from urban, socio-economically disadvantaged communities reported high rates of adverse childhood experiences. The public health impact of childhood adversity is evident in the very strong association between childhood adversity and depressive symptoms, antisocial behavior, and drug use during the early transition to adulthood. These findings, coupled with evidence that the impact of major childhood adversities persists well into adulthood, indicate the critical need for prevention and intervention strategies targeting early adverse experiences and their mental health consequences.