Depression, Anxiety Increased More in Young Women than Young Men During Pandemic
During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020, young women reported significantly larger increases in depression and anxiety compared with young men, according to study findings published online ahead of print in Alcoholism Clinical & Experimental Research
“Furthermore, considering the clinical significance (ie, positive screening of depression), females showed a 188% increase in odds of meeting the clinical depression threshold pre-COVID to intra-COVID,” researchers wrote. “Again, similar effects were not observed in males.”
The study involved 473 young adults in Ontario, whose average age was 23 and 70% of whom were white. The participants were part of an ongoing study that tracked alcohol use over time. Between June 17, 2020, and July 1, 2020, when public health restrictions due to COVID-19 were high, the young adults filled out questionnaires about lost income, daily drinking, and mental health symptoms. Researchers matched participant data during the pandemic with reports collected an average 5 months earlier to investigate changes in alcohol use and mental health symptoms.
Although there was substantial variation at the individual level, longitudinal analysis showed significant decreases in heaving drinking overall in the population. Researchers speculated the reduced drinking may have been caused by increased socializing restrictions.
Meanwhile, measures of depression and anxiety increased significantly in young women, who reported more irritability, sadness, and stress than young men. The study also showed a 50% or higher drop in income was associated with worsening depressive symptoms among participants.
“The COVID-19 pandemic had a selective negative effect on depression and anxiety in females and those with major income loss,” researchers wrote. “Taken together, these results suggest that clinical service providers should attend closely to subpopulation status when considering the pandemic’s mental health impacts.”
—Jolynn Tumolo
References
