Mental Health Disorders May Worsen as a Result of Pandemic, Study Finds

New mental health problems may develop and existing conditions may worsen as a result of the stressors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in women and young adults, said Christoph Correll, MD, Psych Congress Europe scientific committee member and Professor of Psychiatry and Molecular Medicine, The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, New York, NY, and Professor and Chair, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Charité–Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, in a session at the recent Psych Congress Elevate virtual meeting.

“COVID-19, as we have all experienced it, has abruptly altered our lives. As a result of this pandemic, this huge environmental stressor, new mental health problems are going to develop, and others will worsen,” states Dr Correll.

In his session, Dr Correll discusses the Collaborative Outcomes Study on Health and Functioning During Infection Times (COH-FIT), which “will run for the entirety of the pandemic, until the [World Health Organization] declares it over.”

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COH-FIT is an anonymous, cross-sectional survey study that, at the time of the presentation, was being coordinated through 220 investigators, with 149,910 participants of all age groups, from 155 countries on 6 different continents, and the survey had been translated into 30 languages. The goal of COH-FIT is to not limit data collection to “only 1 country or 1 group in the general population” but to have “something international” so we can “compare and learn from different countries” and have a broader range of assessment tools.

Participation in the study is open to children as young as 6 years, and the questions are tailored for different age groups. Of nearly 150,000 participants, the majority has been women and young adults with a wide range of employment types, mental health disorders, and COVID-19–related experiences; however, only approximately 2% have tested positive for COVID-19.

Stress and loneliness affected more women and young adults, Dr Corell notes when discussing the study results. He also states that the combination of stress and loneliness created higher levels of anger in women, especially those also having the compounding duties of homeschooling children, working from home, and maintaining the home.

Dr Correll highlighted the “4 most utilized strategies that were felt to be particularly helpful to deal with the pandemic” as follows: internet usage, staying in contact with friends and loved ones, exercise, and walking. He also notes that “activities that structure the day,” such as working and having hobbies, were 2 additional strategies people used for coping.

“People with mental disorders, frontline health workers, migrants, youth, the poor, and others are likely particularly vulnerable to negative effects of the pandemic. We need to identify them, and we need to give them information about what other groups do that helps them survive better,” Dr Correll concluded.

—Heather Flint

Reference

Correll C. Collaborative outcomes study on health and functioning during infection times (COH-FIT): design, dissemination and initial results. Presented at: Psych Congress Elevate; June 11–13, 2021; Virtual.