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Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans

Tibor V. Varga · Feifei Bu · Agnete Skovlund Dissing · Leonie K. Elsenburg · Joel José Herranz Bustamante · Joane Matta +11 more

265 citations0/0 files storedThe Lancet Regional Health - Europe

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world instituted various public-health measures. Our project aimed to highlight the most significant similarities and differences in key mental-health indicators between four Western and Northern European countries, and identify the population subgroups with the poorest mental-health outcomes during the first months of the pandemic. METHODS: We analysed time-series survey data of 205,084 individuals from seven studies from Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the UK to assess the impact of the pandemic and associated lockdowns. All analyses focused on the initial lockdown phase (March-July 2020). The main outcomes were loneliness, anxiety, and COVID-19-related worries and precautionary behaviours. FINDINGS: COVID-19-related worries were consistently high in each country but decreased during the gradual reopening phases. While only 7% of the respondents reported high levels of loneliness in the Netherlands, percentages were higher in the rest of the three countries (13-18%). In all four countries, younger individuals and individuals with a history of mental illness expressed the highest levels of loneliness. INTERPRETATION: The pandemic and associated country lockdowns had a major impact on the mental health of populations, and certain subgroups should be closely followed to prevent negative long-term consequences. Younger individuals and individuals with a history of mental illness would benefit from tailored public-health interventions to prevent or counteract the negative effects of the pandemic. Individuals across Western and Northern Europe have thus far responded in psychologically similar ways despite differences in government approaches to the pandemic. FUNDING: See the Funding section.

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References

2003Screening for Serious Mental Illness in the General Population 2004A Short Scale for Measuring Loneliness in Large Surveys 2020Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal probability sample survey of the UK population 2020A Nationwide Survey of Psychological Distress among Italian People during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors 2020Loneliness and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic 2020Loneliness: A signature mental health concern in the era of COVID-19 2020The trajectory of loneliness in response to COVID-19.2020Mental Health and Behavior of College Students During the Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Smartphone and Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

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2020Mental Health Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Probability Sample Survey of the UK Population 2022The impact of the initial and second national COVID-19 lockdowns on mental health in young people with and without pre-existing depressive symptoms 2023Resilience and Disaster: Flexible Adaptation in the Face of Uncertain Threat 2022Prevalence of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis of over 2 million people

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