Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans
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 identif...
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Elsevier
2021-03-01
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Series: | The Lancet Regional Health. Europe |
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Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266677622030020X |
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Article |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Tibor V. Varga Feifei Bu Agnete S. Dissing Leonie K. Elsenburg Joel J. Herranz Bustamante Joane Matta Sander K.R. van Zon Sandra Brouwer Ute Bültmann Daisy Fancourt Klaus Hoeyer Marcel Goldberg Maria Melchior Katrine Strandberg-Larsen Marie Zins Amy Clotworthy Naja H. Rod |
spellingShingle |
Tibor V. Varga Feifei Bu Agnete S. Dissing Leonie K. Elsenburg Joel J. Herranz Bustamante Joane Matta Sander K.R. van Zon Sandra Brouwer Ute Bültmann Daisy Fancourt Klaus Hoeyer Marcel Goldberg Maria Melchior Katrine Strandberg-Larsen Marie Zins Amy Clotworthy Naja H. Rod Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans The Lancet Regional Health. Europe COVID-19 Pandemic Public health Global health Lockdown Governmental interventions |
author_facet |
Tibor V. Varga Feifei Bu Agnete S. Dissing Leonie K. Elsenburg Joel J. Herranz Bustamante Joane Matta Sander K.R. van Zon Sandra Brouwer Ute Bültmann Daisy Fancourt Klaus Hoeyer Marcel Goldberg Maria Melchior Katrine Strandberg-Larsen Marie Zins Amy Clotworthy Naja H. Rod |
author_sort |
Tibor V. Varga |
title |
Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans |
title_short |
Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans |
title_full |
Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans |
title_fullStr |
Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans |
title_full_unstemmed |
Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans |
title_sort |
loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the covid-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis of 200,000 western and northern europeans |
publisher |
Elsevier |
series |
The Lancet Regional Health. Europe |
issn |
2666-7762 |
publishDate |
2021-03-01 |
description |
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. |
topic |
COVID-19 Pandemic Public health Global health Lockdown Governmental interventions |
url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266677622030020X |
work_keys_str_mv |
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doaj-76eecc4229fa441eb2cab9d95f8dbc342021-03-19T07:33:11ZengElsevierThe Lancet Regional Health. Europe2666-77622021-03-012100020Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern EuropeansTibor V. Varga0Feifei Bu1Agnete S. Dissing2Leonie K. Elsenburg3Joel J. Herranz Bustamante4Joane Matta5Sander K.R. van Zon6Sandra Brouwer7Ute Bültmann8Daisy Fancourt9Klaus Hoeyer10Marcel Goldberg11Maria Melchior12Katrine Strandberg-Larsen13Marie Zins14Amy Clotworthy15Naja H. Rod16Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Corresponding authors.Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UKSection of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkSection of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkSorbonne Université, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique (IPLESP), Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Sociale (ERES), Paris, FranceInserm, Population-based Epidemiological Cohorts Unit, UMS 011, 94800 Villejuif, FranceDepartment of Health Sciences, Community and Occupational Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of Health Sciences, Community and Occupational Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of Health Sciences, Community and Occupational Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The NetherlandsDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UKSection for Health Services Research, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkInserm, Population-based Epidemiological Cohorts Unit, UMS 011, 94800 Villejuif, FranceSorbonne Université, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique (IPLESP), Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Sociale (ERES), Paris, FranceSection of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkInserm, Population-based Epidemiological Cohorts Unit, UMS 011, 94800 Villejuif, France; Faculté de Médecine, Université de Paris, 75006 ParisSection of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkSection of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Corresponding authors.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.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266677622030020XCOVID-19PandemicPublic healthGlobal healthLockdownGovernmental interventions |