Were anxiety, depression and psychological distress associated with local mortality rates during COVID-19 outbreak in Italy? Findings from the COMET study
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2022
Citazione:
Were anxiety, depression and psychological distress associated with local mortality rates during COVID-19 outbreak in Italy? Findings from the COMET study / G. Carrà, C. Crocamo, F. Bartoli, I. Riboldi, G. Sampogna, M. Luciano, U. Albert, C. Carmassi, F. Cirulli, B. Dell'Osso, G. Menculini, M. Nanni, M. Pompili, G. Sani, U. Volpe, A. Fiorillo. - In: JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH. - ISSN 0022-3956. - 152:(2022 Aug), pp. 242-249. [10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.06.018]
Abstract:
Background: The mental health of the Italian population declined at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, nationwide population prevalence estimates may not effectively reproduce the heterogeneity in distress responses to the pandemic. In particular, contextual determinants specific to COVID-19 pandemic need to be considered. We thus aimed to explore the association between local COVID-19 mortality rates and mental health response among the general population. Methods: We capitalised on data (N = 17,628) from a large, cross-sectional, national survey, the COMET study, run between March and May 2020. While psychological distress was measured by General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21) was used to assess relevant domains. In addition, a Covid-19 mortality ratio was built to compare single regional mortality rates to the national estimate and official statistics were used to control for other area-level determinants. Results: Adjusted ordered regression analyses showed an association between mortality ratio and moderate (OR = 1.10, 95%CI 1.03-1.18) and severe (OR = 1.11, 95%CI 1.03-1.21) DASS-21 anxiety levels. No effects of mortality ratio on GHQ-12 scores and DASS-21 depression and stress levels, uniformly high across the country, were estimated. Conclusions: Although we could not find any association between regional COVID-19 mortality ratio and depression or psychological distress, anxiety levels were significantly increased among subjects from areas with the highest mortality rates. Local mortality rate seems a meaningful driver for anxiety among the general population. Considering the potentially long-lasting scenario, local public health authorities should provide neighbouring communities with preventive interventions reducing psychological isolation and anxiety levels.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
Anxiety; COVID-19; Depression; Mortality rate; Psychological distress; Anxiety; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression; Disease Outbreaks; Humans; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2; Stress, Psychological; Surveys and Questionnaires; COVID-19; Psychological Distress
Elenco autori:
G. Carrà, C. Crocamo, F. Bartoli, I. Riboldi, G. Sampogna, M. Luciano, U. Albert, C. Carmassi, F. Cirulli, B. Dell'Osso, G. Menculini, M. Nanni, M. Pompili, G. Sani, U. Volpe, A. Fiorillo
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