Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

June 19, 2020

Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Two Longitudinal UK Population Cohorts

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  • [pre-print, not peer reviewed] Two longitudinal cohorts in the UK collected validated mental health measures before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety and lower wellbeing, but not depression, increased since the start of the pandemic. The percentage of individuals with probable anxiety disorder nearly doubled from 13% to 24%. Younger people, women, those with pre-existing mental or physical health conditions, and those living alone and in socio-economic adversity were at a higher risk of these outcomes. There was no evidence that key workers or healthcare workers were at higher risk of these outcomes. 

Kwong et al. (June 18, 2020). Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Two Longitudinal UK Population Cohorts. Pre-print downloaded June 19 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.16.20133116