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Varga TV, Bu F, Dissing AS, Elsenburg LK, Bustamante JJH, Matta J, van Zon SK, Brouwer S, Bültmann U, Fancourt D, Hoeyer K, Goldberg M, Melchior M, Strandberg-Larsen K, Zins M, Clotworthy A, Rod NH. Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans. Lancet Reg Health Eur 2021; 2:100020. [PMID: 33870246 PMCID: PMC8042675 DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2020.100020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world instituted various public-health measures. Our project aimed to highlight the most significant similarities and differences in key mental-health indicators between four Western and Northern European countries, and identify the population subgroups with the poorest mental-health outcomes during the first months of the pandemic. METHODS We analysed time-series survey data of 205,084 individuals from seven studies from Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the UK to assess the impact of the pandemic and associated lockdowns. All analyses focused on the initial lockdown phase (March-July 2020). The main outcomes were loneliness, anxiety, and COVID-19-related worries and precautionary behaviours. FINDINGS COVID-19-related worries were consistently high in each country but decreased during the gradual reopening phases. While only 7% of the respondents reported high levels of loneliness in the Netherlands, percentages were higher in the rest of the three countries (13-18%). In all four countries, younger individuals and individuals with a history of mental illness expressed the highest levels of loneliness. INTERPRETATION The pandemic and associated country lockdowns had a major impact on the mental health of populations, and certain subgroups should be closely followed to prevent negative long-term consequences. Younger individuals and individuals with a history of mental illness would benefit from tailored public-health interventions to prevent or counteract the negative effects of the pandemic. Individuals across Western and Northern Europe have thus far responded in psychologically similar ways despite differences in government approaches to the pandemic. FUNDING See the Funding section.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tibor V. Varga
- Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Feifei Bu
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK
| | - Agnete S. Dissing
- Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Leonie K. Elsenburg
- Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Joel J. Herranz Bustamante
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique (IPLESP), Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Sociale (ERES), Paris, France
| | - Joane Matta
- Inserm, Population-based Epidemiological Cohorts Unit, UMS 011, 94800 Villejuif, France
| | - Sander K.R. van Zon
- Department of Health Sciences, Community and Occupational Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Sandra Brouwer
- Department of Health Sciences, Community and Occupational Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ute Bültmann
- Department of Health Sciences, Community and Occupational Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Daisy Fancourt
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK
| | - Klaus Hoeyer
- Section for Health Services Research, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Marcel Goldberg
- Inserm, Population-based Epidemiological Cohorts Unit, UMS 011, 94800 Villejuif, France
| | - Maria Melchior
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique (IPLESP), Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Sociale (ERES), Paris, France
| | | | - Marie Zins
- Inserm, Population-based Epidemiological Cohorts Unit, UMS 011, 94800 Villejuif, France
- Faculté de Médecine, Université de Paris, 75006 Paris
| | - Amy Clotworthy
- Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Naja H. Rod
- Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Dissing AS, Lakon CM, Gerds TA, Rod NH, Lund R. Measuring social integration and tie strength with smartphone and survey data. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0200678. [PMID: 30138354 PMCID: PMC6107109 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Recordings of smartphone use for contacts are increasingly being used as alternative or supplementary measurement methods for social interactions and social relations in the health sciences. Less work has been done to understand how these measures compare with widely used survey-based information. Using data from the Copenhagen Network Study, we investigated whether derived survey and smartphone measures on two widely studied concepts; Social integration and Tie strength were associated. The study population included 737 college students (mean age 21.6 years, Standard deviation: 2.6), who were followed with surveys and continuous recordings of smartphone usage over a one-month period. We derived self-reported and smartphone measures of social integration (social role diversity, social network size), and tie strength (contact frequency, duration and tie reciprocity). Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between smartphone derived and self-reported measures adjusting for gender, age and co-habitation. Larger call and text message networks were associated with having a high self-reported social role diversity, and a high self-reported social contact frequency was likewise associated with having both frequent call and text message interactions, longer call duration and a higher level of reciprocity in call and text message communication. Self-reported aspects of social relations and smartphone measures of social interactions have considerable overlap supporting a measurement of similar underlying concepts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnete S. Dissing
- Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen K, Denmark
- * E-mail:
| | - Cynthia M. Lakon
- Program in Public Health, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Thomas A. Gerds
- Section of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | - Naja H. Rod
- Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen K, Denmark
- Copenhagen Stress Research Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rikke Lund
- Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen K, Denmark
- Center for Healthy Aging, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N, Denmark
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Dissing AS, Dich N, Andersen AMN, Lund R, Rod NH. Parental break-ups and stress: roles of age & family structure in 44 509 pre-adolescent children. Eur J Public Health 2018; 27:829-834. [PMID: 28449034 DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckx040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Parental break-up is wide spread, and the effects of parental break-up on children's well-being are known. The evidence regarding child age at break-up and subsequent family arrangements is inconclusive. Aim: to estimate the effects of parental break-up on stress in pre-adolescent children with a specific focus on age at break-up and post-breakup family arrangements. Methods We used data from the Danish National Birth Cohort. Participants included 44 509 children followed from birth to age 11. Stress was self-reported by children at age 11, when the children also reported on parental break-up and post break-up family arrangements. Results Twenty-one percent of the children had experienced a parental break-up at age 11, and those who had experienced parental break-up showed a higher risk of stress (OR:1.72, 95%CI:1.55;1.91) regardless of the child's age at break-up. Children living in a new family with stepparents (OR = 1.63, 95%CI:1.38;1.92), or shared between the parents (OR = 1.48, 95%CI:1.26;1.75) reported higher stress than children of intact families. Single parent families reported markedly higher stress levels than children in intact families (OR = 2.18, 95%CI:1.90;2.50) and all other family types. Children who were satisfied with their living arrangements post-break-up reported the same stress level as children living in intact families (OR = 1.01, 95%CI:0.86;1.18). Conclusion Children who experience parental break-up have higher stress levels, also many years after the break-up, and those living in a single parent household post break-up seem to be most vulnerable. Living arrangements post-breakup should be further investigated as a potential protective factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnete S Dissing
- The department of Public Health, The University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nadya Dich
- The department of Public Health, The University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Rikke Lund
- The department of Public Health, The University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Center for Healthy Ageing, The University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Danish Aging Research Center, University of Southern Denmark, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Naja H Rod
- The department of Public Health, The University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Dissing AS, Gil A, Keenan K, McCambridge J, McKee M, Oralov A, Saburova L, Leon DA. Alcohol consumption and self-reported (SF12) physical and mental health among working-aged men in a typical Russian city: a cross-sectional study. Addiction 2013; 108:1905-14. [PMID: 23692519 PMCID: PMC3992912 DOI: 10.1111/add.12257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2012] [Revised: 08/09/2012] [Accepted: 05/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AIM To investigate the association between patterns of alcohol consumption and self-reported physical and mental health in a population with a high prevalence of hazardous drinking. DESIGN Cross-sectional study of an age-stratified random sample of a population register. SETTING : The city of Izhevsk, The Russian Federation, 2008-09. PARTICIPANTS A total of 1031 men aged 25-60 years (68% response rate). MEASUREMENTS : Self-reported health was evaluated with the SF12 physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component summaries. Measures of hazardous drinking (based on frequency of adverse effects of alcohol intake including hangover, excessive drunkenness and extended episodes of intoxication lasting 2 or more days) were used in addition to frequency of alcohol consumption and total volume of beverage ethanol per year. Information on smoking and socio-demographic factors were obtained. FINDINGS : Compared with abstainers, those drinking 10-19 litres of beverage ethanol per year had a PCS score 2.66 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.76; 4.56] higher. Hazardous beverage drinking was associated with a lower PCS score [mean diff: -2.95 (95% CI = -5.28; -0.62)] and even more strongly with a lower MCS score [mean diff: -4.29 (95% CI = -6.87; -1.70)] compared to non-hazardous drinkers, with frequent non-beverage alcohol drinking being associated with a particularly low MCS score [-7.23 (95% CI = -11.16; -3.29)]. Adjustment for smoking and socio-demographic factors attenuated these associations slightly, but the same patterns persisted. Adjustment for employment status attenuated the associations with PCS considerably. CONCLUSION : Among working-aged male adults in Russia, hazardous patterns of alcohol drinking are associated with poorer self-reported physical health, and even more strongly with poorer self-reported mental health. Physical health appears to be lower in those reporting complete abstinence from alcohol compared with those drinking 10-19 litres per year.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnete S Dissing
- Department of Public Health, The University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Artyom Gil
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineLondon, UK
| | | | | | - Martin McKee
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineLondon, UK
| | - Alexey Oralov
- Izhevsk State Technical UniversityIzhevsk, Russian Federation
| | | | - David A Leon
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineLondon, UK,Correspondence to: David Leon, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK. E-mail:
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