Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, United Kingdom; International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health, United Kingdom.
Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, United Kingdom; International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health, United Kingdom.
J Affect Disord. 2023 Apr 14;327:23-30. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.101. Epub 2023 Feb 2.
There is relatively little evidence on socioeconomic inequalities in mental health among young adults after the end of the first COVID-19 wave in the UK, despite this group having faced the worse mental health and economic shocks across age groups at the start of the pandemic.
We examined differences in mental health across two points - September 2020 and February 2021 - in a cohort of 4167 Millennials aged 30-31 using life dissatisfaction, psychological distress (GHQ-12), anxiety (GAD-2), and depressive symptoms (PHQ-2). We report adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) from random-intercept models, testing differences by educational attainment and time-varying conditions (relationship status, living arrangements with adults and children, work status, and financial changes compared with before the outbreak), adjusting for baseline covariates at ages 13-14 and health covariates at ages 25-26.
Only dissatisfaction with life changed between time points (PR = 1.26, 95%CI 1.02-1.55). Educational attainment was not significantly associated with mental health. Being single (aPRs from 1.36 to 1.89) and being financially worse off since the start of the pandemic (aPRs from 1.58 to 1.76) were each associated with worse mental health. These associations did not further vary by educational attainment.
Among Millennials who grew up in England, educational attainment was not associated with mental health whereas negative social and financial conditions were associated with worse mental health during the second COVID-19 wave. Mental health inequalities in this generation are likely to have continued increasing after the end of the first COVID-19 wave.
尽管在疫情开始时，这一年龄组的年轻人经历了最严重的心理健康和经济冲击，但在英国第一波 COVID-19 疫情结束后，关于年轻人心理健康方面的社会经济不平等问题的证据相对较少。
我们使用生活满意度、心理困扰（GHQ-12）、焦虑（GAD-2）和抑郁症状（PHQ-2），在一个由 4167 名 30-31 岁千禧一代组成的队列中，分别在 2020 年 9 月和 2021 年 2 月两个时间点上，检查心理健康状况的差异。我们报告了随机截距模型的调整后患病率比（aPR），并通过教育程度和时变条件（与疫情前相比，伴侣关系状况、与成年人和儿童的生活安排、工作状况和财务变化）来检验差异，同时调整了 13-14 岁时的基线协变量和 25-26 岁时的健康协变量。
只有对生活的不满在时间点上发生了变化（PR=1.26，95%CI 1.02-1.55）。教育程度与心理健康无显著关联。单身（aPR 从 1.36 到 1.89）和自疫情开始以来经济状况恶化（aPR 从 1.58 到 1.76）与心理健康状况恶化相关。这些关联在教育程度上没有进一步变化。
在英格兰长大的千禧一代中，教育程度与心理健康无关，而负面的社会和经济条件与第二波 COVID-19 期间更差的心理健康相关。在第一波 COVID-19 疫情结束后，这一代人的心理健康不平等可能会继续加剧。
