Wednesday, 16 September 2020
People are experiencing significantly more stress, anxiety and depression since lockdown began, with women and young people the most affected, according to a major new study.
3,097 adults joined the COVID-19 Stress and Health Study, led by the University of Nottingham and King’s College London, in the first six weeks of social restriction measures being introduced in the UK.
The study was designed to look at the effects of the pandemic on the mental health of people living in the UK and examine whether experiences like increased stress, anxiety and depression might be affecting physical health.
Results from the first stage of the study, published in the BMJ Open, have focused on three specific questions:
- Are people in the UK experiencing more stress, anxiety and depression during the first six weeks of social restriction measures being introduced that we normally see in the UK?
- Are certain groups of people more distressed than others?
- Which factors are most strongly associated with mental health and could these be the focus of future interventions?
The results show that stress, anxiety and depression were all significantly higher in participants compared with previous published norms, with 64% of participants reporting symptoms of depression and 57% reporting symptoms of anxiety. When considering the thresholds at which someone would qualify for high intensity psychological support in the NHS, the team observed that 31.6% reported moderate to severe depression and 26% moderate to severe anxiety.
The researchers also found that being younger and female was associated with significantly greater levels of stress, anxiety and depression.
However, the strongest associations with mental health were not with age and gender, but with psychological measures which captured how lonely people felt, their worry about getting COVID-19 and also their experience of positive mood. These ‘modifiable’ factors accounted for 54-57% of the variability in mental health.
Professor Kavita Vedhara
Kavita Vedhara, Professor of Health Psychology, from the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, is leading the study. She says: “Although these results are from a cross sectional study, they highlight some important messages. Firstly, the emotional toll early on in the pandemic appears to have been significant in the UK. This is perhaps not surprising as people were required to rapidly and unexpectedly respond to a range of challenges. What is crucial now is to examine if these very high levels of distress are persisting over time.
“Secondly, the people hit hardest appear to be younger people and women, but the strongest associations with mental health were with worry about COVID-19, feelings of loneliness and limited positive emotional experiences. This suggests that for some people, the emotional consequences of the pandemic may require psychological intervention. However, it also highlights a potential role for public health interventions too.
“Robust contact tracing, wearing of face masks etc, are designed to reduce the risk of infection in the community. But if done well, they could also assuage people’s worries about getting COVID-19, increase their opportunities for safe social interaction and improve positive mood. In this way, effective public health interventions could help mental health too.”
Co-investigator on the study, Professor Trudie Chalder from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) King’s College London said “This study found that worry about getting COVID-19 as well as loneliness were associated with anxiety, depression and stress. More support at a community level and targeted work with individuals particularly affected by the pandemic could help people access ways of coping during these difficult times and alleviate these ‘modifiable’ factors that our study has shown to be so important for our mental health during the pandemic.”
Part of the study has also been to collect samples of hair from participants to measure the stress hormone cortisol. This hormone plays a key role in determining how emotional well-being affects physical health and the team will be exploring whether the emotional effects of the pandemic have changed levels of this hormone and how cortisol is related to the risk of COVID-19 and the severity of the infection.
Professor Vedhara continues: “We are now in the next phase of the study where we are asking participants to complete another short survey and post their hair samples to us. These samples will allow us to explore whether any stress you have experienced since the start of the pandemic could affect your health in the future. So please keep sending us your samples and completing your surveys. This second phase ends at the end of this week.”
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For more information please contact Professor Kavita Vedhara from the School Medicine at the University of Nottingham, email Kavita.Vedhara@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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