Mental health of people in Australia in the first month of COVID-19 restrictions: a national survey.

Objectives: To estimate the population prevalence of clinically significant symptoms of depression, generalised anxiety, thoughts of being better off dead, irritability, and high optimism about the future, and of direct experience of COVID-19, loss of employment caused by COVID-19 restrictions, worr...

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Publicado en:Medical Journal of Australia Vol. 213; no. 10; pp. 458 - 465
Autores principales: Fisher, Jane RW, Tran, Thach D, Hammarberg, Karin, Sastry, Jayagowri, Nguyen, Hau, Rowe, Heather, Popplestone, Sally, Stocker, Ruby, Stubber, Claire, Kirkman, Maggie
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Nov2020
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Nov2020
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
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        atl: Mental health of people in Australia in the first month of COVID-19 restrictions: a national survey.
      aug:
        au:
          Fisher, Jane RW
          Tran, Thach D
          Hammarberg, Karin
          Sastry, Jayagowri
          Nguyen, Hau
          Rowe, Heather
          Popplestone, Sally
          Stocker, Ruby
          Stubber, Claire
          Kirkman, Maggie
        affil: Monash University, Melbourne VIC
      sug:
        subj:
          Depression Epidemiology
          Anxiety Disorders Epidemiology
          COVID-19 Psychosocial Factors
          Health Policy
          Pneumonia, Viral Psychosocial Factors
          Young Adult
          Cross Sectional Studies
          COVID-19 Epidemiology
          Australia
          Adolescence
          Male
          Pneumonia, Viral Epidemiology
          Female
          Middle Age
          Human
          Disease Outbreaks
          Adult
          Aged
          Validation Studies
          Comparative Studies
          Evaluation Research
          Multicenter Studies
          Funding Source
          Psychological Tests
          Questionnaires
          Adolescent: 13-18 years
          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Aged: 65+ years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Objectives: To estimate the population prevalence of clinically significant symptoms of depression, generalised anxiety, thoughts of being better off dead, irritability, and high optimism about the future, and of direct experience of COVID-19, loss of employment caused by COVID-19 restrictions, worry about contracting COVID-19, or major disadvantage because of the restrictions; to examine the relationship between these experiences and reporting mental symptoms.Design, Setting, Participants: Anonymous online survey of adult Australian residents, 3 April - 2 May 2020.Main Outcome Measures: Self-reported psychological status during the preceding fortnight assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9; symptoms of depression) and the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). Optimism about the future was assessed with a 10-point study-specific visual analogue scale.Results: 13 829 respondents contributed complete response data. The estimated prevalence of clinically significant symptoms of depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) was 27.6% (95% CI, 26.1-29.1%) and of clinically significant symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7 ≥ 10) 21.0% (95% CI, 19.6-22.4%); 14.6% of respondents (95% CI, 13.5-16.0%) reported thoughts of being better off dead or self-harm (PHQ-9, item 9) on at least some days and 59.2% (95% CI, 57.6-60.7%) that they were more irritable (GAD-7, item 6). An estimated 28.3% of respondents (95% CI, 27.1-29.6%) reported great optimism about the future (score ≥ 8). People who had lost jobs, were worried about contracting COVID-19, or for whom the restrictions had a highly adverse impact on daily life were more likely to report symptoms of depression or anxiety, and less likely to report high optimism than people without these experiences.Conclusions: Mental health problems were widespread among Australians during the first month of the stage two COVID-19 restrictions; in addition, about one-quarter of respondents reported mild to moderate symptoms of depression or anxiety. A public mental health response that includes universal, selective and indicated clinical interventions is needed.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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