Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and health behaviors in Swedish adolescents

Yun, Chen; Osika, Walter; Henriksson, Göran; Dahlstrand, Johan; Friberg, Peter

doi:10.1177/14034948211021724

Cited by 48 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…No such information is available, however. The one study of adolescents in Sweden studying mental health during the pandemic using survey data finds no change in mental health among 16-year-olds (Chen et al 2021). This is in line with our finding of no change in mental health among lower-secondary students (aged 14-16).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

The impact of the COVID-19 school closure on adolescents’ use of mental healthcare services in Sweden

Svaleryd

Björkegren

Vlachos

2021

Preprint

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Background School closures used to contain the COVID-19 pandemic may have negative impacts on students' mental health but credible evidence is scarce. Sweden moved upper-secondary students to remote learning but, as the only country in the OECD, kept schools at lower levers open throughout the pandemic. Methods Using nationwide register data, we estimate the difference in the use of mental healthcare services between upper- and lower-secondary students during the pandemic, and relate this to the same group difference prior to the pandemic. For the main analysis, this difference-in-difference approach is applied to the period April-June 2020 when upper-secondary schools were fully closed. We also study the periods July-December 2020 when upper-secondary schools were largely open, and January-March 2021 when they were partially closed. We study the impact on all contacts with hospitals and specialist psychiatric care due to mental and behavioral disorder, as well as prescriptions for antidepressants, insomnia, and ADHD drugs. Findings Compared with expected rates, the use of mental healthcare services among upper-secondary students fell by -3.71 [CI95 -5.52 to -1.91] cases per 1000 during April-June 2020, largely due to a reduction in depression and anxiety-related diagnoses (-1.49; CI95 [-2.36 to -0.63]) and prescriptions (-1.80; CI95 [-2.93 to -0.68]). This reduction in the use of mental healthcare services corresponds to a 4.36% CI95 [-6.47 to -2.25]) decrease compared to the level prior to the pandemic. The decrease compared to expected rates persists through July-December 2020 (-3.55%; CI95 [-5.38 to -1.71]) and January-March 2021 (-5.23%; CI95 [-7.24 to -3.21]). The reduction is stronger among students in the 2nd (-5.06%; CI95 [-8.02 to -2.09]) and 3rd (-4.86%; CI95 [-8.19 to -1.53]) year of upper-secondary school. The decrease is concentrated to students who was not in contact with mental healthcare services earlier in the academic year (-16.70%; CI95 [-22.20 to -11.20]). The relative reduction is largest for unplanned care (-13.88%; CI95 [-19.35 to -8.42]) and care at emergency units (-18.19%; CI95 [-26.44 to -9.92]). Interpretation Closing upper-secondary schools in Sweden reduced use of mental healthcare services. There is no indication of this being due to reduced accessibility. In a setting with no strict lockdown, moving to online teaching for a limited period did not worsen mental health among students in upper-secondary schools.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

The impact of the COVID-19 school closure on adolescents’ use of mental healthcare services in Sweden

Svaleryd

Björkegren

Vlachos

2021

Preprint

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“…In addition, moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) [ 69 ] and the number of steps significantly decreased [ 63 ]. The results of Chen et al [ 64 ] also showed a significant reduction solely in MVPA but did not reveal any changes in leisure-time exercise.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…The remaining studies drew a heterogeneous conclusion. Chen et al [ 64 ] revealed a significant reduction in observed PA only for females while, in contrast, Elnaggar et al [ 80 ] and Sekulic et al [ 105 ] found this significant reduction only for males. The latter authors additionally detected a higher PA level at both measurement time points in boys.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The distance of all before Covid-19 measurement widely varied between studies. Chen et al [ 64 ] performed the earliest before Covid-19 measurement in September 2015, and the latest was carried out by Suzuki et al [ 65 ] on 15 April 2020, who assessed a four-week period before a state of emergency was declared on 16 April 2020. Most before Covid-19 measurements took place in the period between October 2019 and February 2020 ( n = 32 studies).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the majority of the included studies (32/57) reported a significant decrease in PA and only 5 out of 57 showed a significant increase in the measured PA variables [ 57 , 72 , 84 , 100 , 109 ]. The remaining 14 studies showed both negative and positive changes in different domains of PA [ 52 , 55 , 64 , 65 , 70 , 73 , 76 , 77 , 79 , 81 , 83 , 93 , 104 , 110 ], and six studies did not indicate any change in PA [ 50 , 51 , 68 , 71 , 86 , 99 ]. In the following, the results are briefly summarized and discussed in the context of the existing literature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Changes in Physical Activity Patterns Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Wunsch

Kienberger

Niessner

2022

IJERPH

207

147

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With the outbreak of the Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) in late 2019, governments increasingly imposed containment strategies, including social distancing as well as restricted population movement, potentially having negative impacts on mental and physical health. A growing number of studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on different facets of physical activity (PA); an overview combining these (mixed) results, however, is missing. Thus, the objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate whether and to which extent PA changed from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking age, gender, and measurement method into account. The literature search was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Results of the main characteristics were descriptively synthesized and analyzed in a meta-analysis quantifying effects of the pandemic on PA divided by age groups, with additional subgroup analyses of the characteristics age, gender, and measurement method being narratively synthesized. Overall, 57 studies with a total sample size of 119,094 participants (N between 10 and 60,560 subjects) from 14 countries worldwide with participants aged between four and 93 years were included. Thirty-two studies revealed a significant decline in PA, whereas only five studies found a significant increase in PA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourteen studies revealed mixed results. Except for children and adolescents, PA decreased in all age groups, independent of gender. Most self-reported and all device-based measurement methods showed a reduction in PA. However, effects were not found to be significant in all age groups. Nevertheless, the declining trend should be noted and governments should strive to enable PA within periods of pandemic restrictions, or promote alternatives such as digital training to avoid negative health consequences within the population.

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The unequal impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on young adults' mental health. Predictors of vulnerability and resilience using longitudinal birth cohort data in the UK

Reed,

Thapar,

Riglin

et al. 2024

Journal of Adolescence

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IntroductionPrevious studies have demonstrated deteriorations in young adult mental health during the COVID‐19 pandemic, but evidence suggests heterogeneity in the mental health impacts of the pandemic. We sought to identify factors which may predict changes in psychological distress and wellbeing during the COVID‐19 pandemic in UK young adults.MethodsA total of 2607 young adults from the Millennium Cohort Study were included. Psychological distress and mental wellbeing were measured using the Kessler‐6 and Short Warwick‐Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, respectively. Assessment occurred at three timepoints between the ages of 17–19: 2018/19 (pre‐COVID Baseline), May 2020 (COVID Wave 1) and September/October 2020 (COVID Wave 2). Latent change score models were used to study change in distress and wellbeing across the study period, as well as the impact of sex, relative family poverty, parental education, preexisting mental health difficulties and perceived social support on these changes.ResultsThe latent change score models suggested both distress and wellbeing tended to increase across the study period. Being female and in relative poverty predicted greater increases in distress and/or poorer wellbeing. Higher levels of parental education and greater perceived social support were protective against increased distress and associated with improved wellbeing.ConclusionsThe impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on UK young adult mental health is complex. We provide further evidence for a distinction between symptoms of poor mental health and wellbeing. Research is urgently needed to assess the long‐term impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of young people, particularly in more vulnerable groups.

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Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and health behaviors in Swedish adolescents

Cited by 48 publications

References 22 publications

The impact of the COVID-19 school closure on adolescents’ use of mental healthcare services in Sweden

The impact of the COVID-19 school closure on adolescents’ use of mental healthcare services in Sweden

Changes in Physical Activity Patterns Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The unequal impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on young adults' mental health. Predictors of vulnerability and resilience using longitudinal birth cohort data in the UK

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