Duarte Fabián, Jiménez-Molina Álvaro
Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Millennium Nucleus in Social Development (DESOC), Santiago, Chile.
Front Psychiatry. 2022 Feb 24;13:744204. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.744204. eCollection 2022.
Despite numerous efforts to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, there are few longitudinal studies that examine the change in the burden of psychological distress over time and its associated factors, especially in developing countries.
The primary aim of this study was to assess the levels of psychological distress at two time points during the COVID-19 outbreak based on a representative community sample in Chile. The secondary aim was to identify groups that are more vulnerable to psychological distress during the pandemic.
A nationally representative, longitudinal telephone survey of Chilean adults was conducted. This study analyses panel data from two waves in 2020: May 30 to June 10 and September 15 to October 9. A total of 823 people participated in both surveys. Changes in mental health outcomes (anxiety and depressive symptoms) were assessed, estimating the effect of demographic characteristics, psychosocial and economic factors, household conditions, and health status.
There was a significant increase in psychological distress (PHQ-4 ≥ 6) between Waves 1 (22.6%) and 2 (27.0%), especially among younger participants. Overall, the results of this study show that being female, living in or near the capital, living in overcrowded households and having a perceived lack of space in the home, loneliness or perceived social isolation, and having received mental health treatment within the last year are significantly associated with psychological distress over time ( < 0.05).
This study highlights the need to implement psychosocial programs to protect people's psychological well-being, as well as social policies to improve household living conditions and levels of social connectedness during the COVID-19 outbreak.
尽管为评估新冠疫情对心理健康的影响付出了诸多努力，但很少有纵向研究考察心理困扰负担随时间的变化及其相关因素，尤其是在发展中国家。
本研究的主要目的是基于智利一个具有代表性的社区样本，评估新冠疫情爆发期间两个时间点的心理困扰水平。次要目的是确定在疫情期间更容易出现心理困扰的群体。
对智利成年人进行了一项具有全国代表性的纵向电话调查。本研究分析了2020年两轮调查的面板数据：5月30日至6月10日以及9月15日至10月9日。共有823人参与了这两项调查。评估了心理健康结果（焦虑和抑郁症状）的变化，估计了人口特征、心理社会和经济因素、家庭状况以及健康状况的影响。
在第一波（22.6%）和第二波（27.0%）调查期间，心理困扰（PHQ-4≥6）显著增加，尤其是在年轻参与者中。总体而言，本研究结果表明，女性、居住在首都或其附近、居住在过度拥挤的家庭且感觉家中空间不足、孤独或感觉社会隔离，以及在过去一年接受过心理健康治疗，这些因素与随时间推移的心理困扰显著相关（<0.05）。
本研究强调了在新冠疫情爆发期间实施心理社会项目以保护人们心理健康的必要性，以及实施社会政策以改善家庭生活条件和社会联系水平的必要性。
