A new report that analyzed 137 studies to include worldwide data from 137 different cohorts of people showed that the COVID-19 pandemic had a minimal impact on most people's mental health. This is despite some dramatic tales that mental health has been devastated by the pandemic. The researchers suggested that many studies that have suggested mental health was seriously disrupted by the pandemic focused on a brief window of time in which people weren't feeling well, instead of taking a comprehensive look at mental health prior to the pandemic and how that compared to what happened to people later.
The conclusion that the pandemic had a minimal impact on mental health was true even when studies assessed an entire population, or groups within that population, such as people with a pre-existing condition, or certain genders or ages. The data was slightly skewed, however, and mostly included data from high- or middle-income countries, while 75 percent of the individuals were adults and 25 percent were kids between 10 and 19 years old. The findings have been reported in The BMJ.
The pandemic has had a far more nuanced impact on mental health than people have conveyed, noted senior study author Brett Thombs, a Professor at McGill University among other appointments.
"Claims that the mental health of most people has deteriorated significantly during the pandemic have been based primarily on individual studies that are snapshots of a particular situation, in a particular place, at a particular time. They typically don't involve any long-term comparison with what had existed before or came after."
This research has also highlighted how important it is to perform rigorous research. Or else, "... our expectations and assumptions, together with poor-quality studies and anecdotes can become self-fulfilling prophecies," added Thombs.
This latest study indicated that COVID-19.did not have any significant affect on the mental health of most of the populations that were assessed.
In the general population, the pandemic did not increase anxiety or mental health. In some older adults, people in a few gender or sexual minority groups, or university students, depression symptoms did get slightly worse because of the pandemic, but this did not happen for all individuals in those groups, nor for all groups. A few small studies also indicated that anxiety and mental health was worsened for parents.
This study also agrees with conclusions from research on how the pandemic affected suicide rates. From the start of 2019 to July 31, 2020, there was no evidence of an increase in suicide in 21 countries during this period. There were actually statistically significant reductions in suicides in 12 countries or regions.
"This is by far the most comprehensive study on COVID-19 mental health in the world, and it shows that, in general, people have been much more resilient than many have assumed," said first study author Ying Sun a research coordinator from the Lady Davis Institute.
The impacts that were observed seemed to affect certain populations in particular. Some women who experience anxiety, depression or poor mental health in general experienced a worsening of symptoms. Many factors may have played a role in that finding, such as a job in healthcare, an increase in various family responsibilities, or domestic violence, for example.
Co-study author Danielle Rice, an Assistant Professor at McMaster University and St. Joseph's Hospital, noted that there should be ongoing support provided to some people because of the adverse impacts that did occur.
Sources: McGill University, The BMJ