Santana CLA, Manfrinato CV, Souza PRP, Marino A, Condé VF, Stedefeldt E, Tomita LY, do Carmo Franco M. Psychological distress, low-income, and socio-economic vulnerability in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public Health 2021;
199:42-45. [PMID:
34537575 PMCID:
PMC8390360 DOI:
10.1016/j.puhe.2021.08.016]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Although literature broadly reports the impact of COVID-19 on global mental health, little is known about the extent of its deleterious impact on the most vulnerable individuals. The present study aimed to evaluate the level of psychological distress of adult's residents of two urban shantytown communities located in São Paulo city, Brazil.
STUDY DESIGN
This was a cross-sectional study.
METHODS
An online questionnaire was divided into four sections: (1) informed consent, (2) socio-economic data, (3) 12-item general health questionnaire, and (4) Brazilian food insecurity scale was applied.
RESULTS
Of the 495 family headship (448 females and 47 males), the mean age was 36.1 years, 85% have an indication of psychological distress, 61.4% had a monthly income less than or equal to $70, and the incidence of households experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity was 40%. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that respondents who experienced moderate or severe food insecurity (odds ratio [OR] = 2.701, confidence interval [CI] 95% = 1.265-5.769; P = 0.010) and lower monthly income (OR = 2.031, CI 95% = 1.056-3.908; P = 0.034) had a higher risk of psychological distress. On the other hand, having an employment is a protective factor against the stressful situations caused by COVID-19 pandemic (P = 0.029).
CONCLUSION
The present study identified low-income younger women residents of urban slums who suffer from food insecurity as high-risk groups to have psychological distress. Our findings are of particular importance because they showed the intersection of vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 outbreak.
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