25 Nov COVIDMENT: COVID-19 cohorts on mental health across six nations
Our first results are out with a paper accepted in the International Journal of Epidemiology. There are indications that the mental well-being of people during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic fluctuates somewhat in accordance with the incidence of COVID-19 cases.
From March 2020 to August 2021 a total of 400 thousand individuals have participated in our seven cohort studies and the data from them, along with health databases in each country will be used to increase knowledge of the long-term impact of COVID-19 on population mental health.
The preliminary results show that the prevalence of depressive symptoms varied considerably across cohorts in the seven countries; but proved highest among young people and women. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was highest at COVID-19 incidence of 30 cases per week per 100,000 persons, or 61.0% higher than the prevalence at COVID-19 incidence of 0 cases per week. The results show that population mental health was to some extent in sync with the incidence of COVID-19 cases.
The article is published on the International Journal of Epidemiology website
Below is an overview of the media coverage:
- Mental health during the pandemic seems associated with the incidence of COVID-19 | University of Iceland (hi.is)
- News coverage at the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service.
- News coverage at Morgunblaðið (e. the morning paper).
- Radio interview at Bylgjan FM 98.9 (broadcast radio station from Reykjavík, Iceland.