Population’s Mental Health after Wave V of COVID in a Disadvantaged Region of North-Hungary

Abstract

We examined the level of stress, aggression, health anxiety and well-being and their changes in almost every wave of the pandemic, and we have reported about the results in national and international studies. In Wave V, the prolonged effect of the pandemic, and, over the mental situational picture, the population’s post-traumatic condition was also examined. Our current research is focusing on the situational picture of North-Hungary, our aim is to get know the mental state of the region’s population. During the research, we used the Mental Health Continuum Scale (MHC-SF), the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) completed with background variables. Results: the questionnaire was filled by 482 persons living in the region, 34.4% of them were men, 65.6% were women, average age 33±15.1. The mental health of the region’s population appears to be below the average (x=32.6±11.8). The worst situation was found in the population’s social well-being (x=9.7±4.7) which did not reach the threshold value. The respondents’ average was in the normal range on the depression, anxiety and stress scale (x=21.9), but the more severe stage of depression was shown by 30% of the respondents, the same of anxiety by 29.5% and stress by 19.9%. The existence of the population’s post-traumatic condition could be detected in the region (x=43.1±20.9) that could be interpreted as the aftermath of the pandemic. The COVID infection occurring in the family has strongly influenced the development of the condition (p<0.009).

Changes of Mental Status Characteristics Among Hungarian Adults in the Year Following Covid-19 Pandemic

“…During the study series, we monitored and followed the changes of the levels of stress, health anxiety, aggression, hope and mental well-being in the second, third, fourth and fifth waves of the pandemic. Our results have been reported in different national and international studies in which the population's mental health is shown to be below the average [4,11,12].…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic posed such a medical, economic, physical and mental hygienic challenge to the humanity that it caused severe damage in terms of people's mental health and well-being [1][2][3]. The changed living conditions were associated with the worsening of the symptoms of depression, perceived stress and anxiety, and the exacerbation of using psychoactive drugs worldwide [4][5][6]. It has also become obvious by now that the passing of acute danger, the end of the pandemic, has not meant the return to the economic, social and mental situation prior the pandemic, as the damages in the physical, mental and social life are still present among the population.…”

“…These factors together have caused the exacerbation of the population's stress reactions, and the initial acute stress has been transformed to chronic stress. As long-lasting stress of even mild intensity has an essential role in the development of both somatic and mental disorders and has effects on subjective health status, it is justified to monitor the severe and long-lasting stress reactions caused by the pandemic among the population [4,11,12]. However, it is also worth keeping in mind during studying the mental effects of the pandemic that people experience and evaluate the same experience or life situation in very different ways, and the response triggered by a certain stressor basically differs between the certain individuals and can even be completely opposite [13,14].…”