Decreasing mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study among Danes before and during the pandemic

The impact of the initial and second national COVID-19 lockdowns on mental health in young people with and without pre-existing depressive symptoms

“…Regression to the mean is of concern, and longitudinal studies in which adjustment for pre-lockdown mental health was performed, documented greater deteriorations following the lockdown in individuals with pre-existing mental health disorders ( Kwong et al, 2020 , 2021 ). Contrary, studies without adjustment for baseline values, as in our study, document slightly improved or unchanged mental health following lockdown among those with a pre-existing mental disorder ( Daly et al, 2020 ; Pan et al, 2020 ; Pinkham et al, 2020 ; Thygesen et al, 2021 ). Observational studies examining change and adjusting for baseline values can lead to bias in the direction of the cross-sectional association between pre-existing depressive symptoms and the pre-lockdown measure of mental health ( Barnett et al, 2005 ; Glymour et al, 2005 ; Van Breukelen, 2006 ).…”

“…Further, patient organisations, case stories, and health professionals have raised concerns about marked worsening of pre-existing mental disorders during the lockdowns, which has also been documented by studies ( Kwong et al, 2020 , 2021 ). Contrary, other studies, all with before and during lockdown measures, have shown that the changes in mental health were minimal or even slightly improved in people with severe and chronic mental disorders, whereas the deteriorations in mental health were among people without pre-existing mental disorders ( Daly et al, 2020 ; Pan et al, 2020 ; Pinkham et al, 2020 ; Thygesen et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The majority of studies that have suggested a decline in young people's mental health are cross-sectional or do not include a pre-lockdown measurement ( Bäuerle et al, 2020 ; Chodkiewicz et al, 2021 ; Daly et al, 2021 ; Fancourt et al, 2020 ; McGinty et al, 2020 ; Soest et al, 2020 ). Most of the earlier findings do also indicate that women were more detrimentally impacted by the lockdown than men ( Chodkiewicz et al, 2021 ; Daly et al, 2020 ; Fancourt et al, 2020 ; Kwong et al, 2020 , 2021 ; Lee et al, 2020 ; Niedzwiedz et al, 2021 ; Pierce et al, 2020 ; Varga et al, 2021 ; Vistisen et al, 2021 ), but for individuals with a pre-existing mental disorder, the findings are mixed ( Bäuerle et al, 2020 ; Daly et al, 2020 ; Kwong et al, 2020 , 2021 ; Pan et al, 2020 ; Pinkham et al, 2020 ; Thygesen et al, 2021 ; Varga et al, 2021 ; Vindegaard and Benros, 2020 ). One possible explanation for the mixed findings can be the methodological differences.…”

The less depressive state of Denmark following the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Over the course of these 18 months, we conducted four studies based on data from the COVID-19 Consequences Denmark Panel Survey 2020 (CCDPS 2020), in which we found co-variation between the intensity of the pandemic (confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the level of psychological well-being among the adult Danish population. Our results suggested a particularly pronounced negative effect on young adults compared to older adults (Sønderskov et al, 2020a(Sønderskov et al, , 2020b(Sønderskov et al, , 2021Vistisen et al, 2021), which resonates well with findings from other Danish and international studies conducted in the same period (Fancourt et al, 2020;Kimhi et al, 2020;Mehrsafar et al, 2021;Ramiz et al, 2021;Ruggieri et al, 2021;Savage et al, 2021;Thygesen et al, 2021;Varga et al, 2021).…”

“…In conclusion, in September 2021, when Denmark had returned to close to pre-pandemic societal conditions, the psychological well-being of the Danish population also appears to have returned to the pre-pandemic levelexcept, however, for the 35-44-year-olds. With the degree of co-variation between the pandemic pressure and psychological well-being observed across the CCDPS waves (Sønderskov et al, 2020a(Sønderskov et al, , 2020b(Sønderskov et al, , 2021Vistisen et al, 2021) and elsewhere (Fancourt et al, 2020;Kimhi et al, 2020;Mehrsafar et al, 2021;Ramiz et al, 2021;Ruggieri et al, 2021;Savage et al, 2021;Thygesen et al, 2021;Varga et al, 2021), it is also a concern from a mental health perspective that the COVID-19 pandemic-at the time of writing-continues to affect populations across the globe.…”