Qi, L;
Zhang, Z;
Robinson, L;
Bobou, M;
Gourlan, C;
Winterer, J;
Adams, R;
... Desrivières, S; + view all
(2023)
Differing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth mental health: combined population and clinical study.
BJPsych Open
, 9
(6)
, Article e217. 10.1192/bjo.2023.601.
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Abstract
Background: Identifying youths most at risk to COVID-19-related mental illness is essential for the development of effective targeted interventions. Aims: To compare trajectories of mental health throughout the pandemic in youth with and without prior mental illness and identify those most at risk of COVID-19-related mental illness. Method: Data were collected from individuals aged 18-26 years (N = 669) from two existing cohorts: IMAGEN, a population-based cohort; and ESTRA/STRATIFY, clinical cohorts of individuals with preexisting diagnoses of mental disorders. Repeated COVID-19 surveys and standardised mental health assessments were used to compare trajectories of mental health symptoms from before the pandemic through to the second lockdown. Results: Mental health trajectories differed significantly between cohorts. In the population cohort, depression and eating disorder symptoms increased by 33.9% (95% CI 31.78-36.57) and 15.6% (95% CI 15.39-15.68) during the pandemic, respectively. By contrast, these remained high over time in the clinical cohort. Conversely, trajectories of alcohol misuse were similar in both cohorts, decreasing continuously (a 15.2% decrease) during the pandemic. Pre-pandemic symptom severity predicted the observed mental health trajectories in the population cohort. Surprisingly, being relatively healthy predicted increases in depression and eating disorder symptoms and in body mass index. By contrast, those initially at higher risk for depression or eating disorders reported a lasting decrease. Conclusions: Healthier young people may be at greater risk of developing depressive or eating disorder symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Targeted mental health interventions considering prior diagnostic risk may be warranted to help young people cope with the challenges of psychosocial stress and reduce the associated healthcare burden.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Differing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth mental health: combined population and clinical study |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1192/bjo.2023.601 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2023.601 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, adolescent, alcohol use disorder, depression, eating disorders |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry > Mental Health Neuroscience |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185777 |
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