scholarly journals Loneliness, physical activity and mental health during Covid-19: a longitudinal analysis of depression and anxiety between 2015 and 2020

Author(s):  
Byron Creese ◽  
Zunera Khan ◽  
William Henley ◽  
Siobhan O’Dwyer ◽  
Anne Corbett ◽  
...  

BackgroundLoneliness and physical activity are important targets for research into the impact of COVID-19 because they have established links with mental health, could be exacerbated by social distancing policies and are potentially modifiable.MethodWe analysed mental health data collected during COVID-19 from adults aged 50 and over alongside comparable annual data collected between 2015 and 2019 from the same sample. Trajectories of depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) were analysed with respect to loneliness, physical activity levels and a number of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics using zero-inflated negative binomial regression.Results3,281 people completed the COVID-19 mental health questionnaire, all had at least one data point prior to 2020. In 2020, the adjusted PHQ-9 score for loneliness was 3.2. (95% CI: 3.0-3.4), an increase of one point on previous years and 2 points higher than people not rated lonely, whose score did not change in 2020 (1.2, 95% CI: 1.1-1.3). PHQ-9 was 2.6 (95% CI: 2.4-2.8) in people with decreased physical activity, an increase of 0.5 on previous years. In contrast, PHQ-9 in 2020 for people whose physical activity had not decreased was 1.7 (95% CI: 1.6-1.8), similar to previous years. A similar relationship was observed for GAD-7 though the differences were smaller and the absolute burden of symptoms lower.ConclusionsAfter accounting for pre-COVID-19 trends, we show that experiencing loneliness and decreased physical activity are risk factors for worsening mental health during the pandemic. Our findings highlight the need to examine policies which target these potentially modifiable risk factors.

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Byron Creese ◽  
Zunera Khan ◽  
William Henley ◽  
Siobhan O’Dwyer ◽  
Anne Corbett ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Loneliness and physical activity are important targets for research into the impact of COVID-19 because they have established links with mental health, could be exacerbated by social distancing policies and are potentially modifiable. In this study we aimed to identify whether loneliness and physical activity were associated with worse mental health during a period of mandatory social distancing in the UK. Design: Population-based observation cohort study. Setting: Mental health data collected online during COVID-19 from an existing sample of adults aged 50 and over taking part in a longitudinal study of ageing. All had comparable annual data collected between 2015 and 2019. Participants: 3,281 participants aged 50 and over. Measurements: Trajectories of depression (measured by PHQ-9) and anxiety (measured by GAD-7) between 2015 and 2020 were analyzed with respect to loneliness, physical activity levels and a number of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics using zero-inflated negative binomial regression. Results: In 2020, PHQ-9 score for loneliness, adjusted for covariates, was 3.23 (95% CI: 3.01-3.44), an increase of around one point on all previous years in this group and 2 points higher than people not rated lonely, whose score did not change in 2020 (1.22, 95% CI: 1.12-1.32). PHQ-9 was 2.60, 95% CI: 2.43-2.78 in people with decreased physical activity, an increase of 0.5 on previous years. In contrast, PHQ-9 in 2020 for people whose physical activity had not decreased was 1.66, 95% CI: 1.56-1.75, similar to previous years. A similar relationship was observed for GAD-7 though the absolute burden of symptoms lower. Conclusion: After accounting for pre-COVID-19 trends, we show that experiencing loneliness and decreased physical activity are risk factors for worsening mental health during the pandemic. Our findings highlight the need to examine policies which target these potentially modifiable risk factors.


Author(s):  
Kevin Lanza ◽  
Casey Durand ◽  
Melody Alcazar ◽  
Sierra Ehlers ◽  
Kai Zhang ◽  
...  

Parks are settings for physical activity that can support the physical and mental health of children during the COVID-19 pandemic. We determined the impact of the pandemic on the use of joint-use parks outside of school hours by children in Austin, TX, United States. In autumn of 2019 and autumn of 2020 (i.e., before and during the COVID-19 pandemic), we used an adapted version of the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities to observe whether children aged 1–12 participated in physical activity (i.e., sedentary, light and moderate, vigorous) at three parks located at schools serving mostly economically disadvantaged Latinx families. In 2020, we also observed whether children maintained social distance and wore face coverings. Results of negative binomial regression modeling revealed the pandemic was associated with a 46% [95% CI: 20–63%] and 62% [95% CI: 39–76%] decrease in the number of girls and boys at parks, respectively, and a 42% [95% CI: 16–59%] and 60% [95% CI: 36–75%] decrease in the number of girls and boys engaging in physical activity, respectively (p < 0.01). In total, 60.6% of girls and 73.6% of boys were not social distancing, and 91.8% of the time no children wore masks. Interventions should be considered to safely reintroduce children to parks for health benefits during pandemics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-352
Author(s):  
Chinaeke Eric ◽  
Gwynn Melanie ◽  
Hong Yuan ◽  
Zhang Jiajia ◽  
Olatosi Bankole

Abstract Background Few studies have assessed the impact of employment on mental health among chronically ill patients. This study investigated the association between employment and self-reported mental unhealthy days among US adults. Methods For this cross-sectional cohort study, we pooled 2011–2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey data. We examined the association between employment and mental health in nine self-reported chronic conditions using marginalized zero-inflated negative binomial regression (MZINB). All analyses were conducted using SAS statistical software 9.4. Results Respondents (weighted n = 245 319 917) were mostly white (77.16%), aged 18–64 (78.31%) and employed (57.08%). Approximately 10% of respondents reported one chronic condition. Expected relative risk of mental unhealthy days was highest for employed respondents living with arthritis (RR = 1.70, 95% CI = [1.66, 1.74]), COPD (RR = 1.45, 95% CI = [1.41, 1.49]) and stroke (RR = 1.31, 95% CI = [1.25, 1.36]) compared to unemployed respondents. Employed males had 25% lower risk of self-reported mental unhealthy days compared to females. Conclusions Results show the interactive effects of employment on self-reported mental health. Employment may significantly impact on self-reported mental health among patients suffering from chronic conditions than those without chronic conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 1958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanlin Zhou ◽  
Lin Liu ◽  
Minxuan Lan ◽  
Bo Yang ◽  
Zengli Wang

Previous research has recognized the importance of edges to crime. Various scholars have explored how one specific type of edges such as physical edges or social edges affect crime, but rarely investigated the importance of the composite edge effect. To address this gap, this study introduces nightlight data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite sensor on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite (NPP-VIIRS) to measure composite edges. This study defines edges as nightlight gradients—the maximum change of nightlight from a pixel to its neighbors. Using nightlight gradients and other control variables at the tract level, this study applies negative binomial regression models to investigate the effects of edges on the street robbery rate and the burglary rate in Cincinnati. The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) of models show that nightlight gradients improve the fitness of models of street robbery and burglary. Also, nightlight gradients make a positive impact on the street robbery rate whilst a negative impact on the burglary rate, both of which are statistically significant under the alpha level of 0.05. The different impacts on these two types of crimes may be explained by the nature of crimes and the in-situ characteristics, including nightlight.


2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (20) ◽  
pp. 1188-1194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana S Oliveira ◽  
Cathie Sherrington ◽  
Elizabeth R Y Zheng ◽  
Marcia Rodrigues Franco ◽  
Anne Tiedemann

BackgroundOlder people are at high risk of physical inactivity. Activity trackers can facilitate physical activity. We aimed to investigate the effect of interventions using activity trackers on physical activity, mobility, quality of life and mental health among people aged 60+ years.MethodsFor this systematic review, we searched eight databases, including MEDLINE, Embase and CENTRAL from inception to April 2018. Randomised controlled trials of interventions that used activity trackers to promote physical activity among people aged 60+ years were included in the analyses. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42017065250.ResultsWe identified 23 eligible trials. Interventions using activity trackers had a moderate effect on physical activity (23 studies; standardised mean difference (SMD)=0.55; 95% CI 0.40 to 0.70; I2=86%) and increased steps/day by 1558 (95% CI 1099 to 2018 steps/day; I2=92%) compared with usual care, no intervention and wait-list control. Longer duration activity tracker-based interventions were more effective than short duration interventions (18 studies, SMD=0.70; 95% CI 0.47 to 0.93 vs 5 studies, SMD=0.14; 95% CI −0.26 to 0.54, p for comparison=0.02). Interventions that used activity trackers improved mobility (three studies; SMD=0.61; 95% CI 0.31 to 0.90; I2=10%), but not quality of life (nine studies; SMD=0.09; 95% CI −0.07 to 0.25; I2=45%). Only one trial included mental health outcomes and it reported similar effects of the activity tracker intervention compared with control.ConclusionsInterventions using activity trackers improve physical activity levels and mobility among older people compared with control. However, the impact of activity tracker interventions on quality of life, and mental health is unknown.


Empirica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 699-731
Author(s):  
Franz Hackl ◽  
Rudolf Winter-Ebmer

Abstract E-commerce has become an integral part of the world’s economy. In this study we investigate the impact of service quality in e-tailing on site visits and consumer demand. Such an analysis is important given the almost Bertrand-like competitive structure. Our analysis is based on a large representative data set obtained from a price comparison site covering essentially the complete Austrian e-tailing market. Customer evaluations for a broad range of 15 different service characteristics are condensed using factor analysis. Negative binomial regression analysis is used to measure the impact of service quality dimensions on referral requests to online shops for different product categories. Our results show that the most important service quality aspects are those related to the ordering process and the firm’s website performance.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva-Maria Euchner ◽  
Elena Frech

Abstract Although the scholarship on legislative behaviour widely agrees that electoral rules determine parliamentary activities, surprisingly little is known on the impact of gender quotas. We contribute to this research gap by developing an innovative interdisciplinary framework and by exploring it based on a unique dataset on varying gender quota designs throughout EU countries and parties running for the 7th term of the European Parliament (2009–2014). Based on the scholarship on gender diversity in management teams and the research on gendered processes in political parties, we argue that especially mandated gender quotas stimulate processes of social categorisation, intergroup biasing and competition due to a normative mis-fit between conceptions of gender equality and gender quotas, which in turn influences coordination and communication and hence, parliamentary activity more generally. Combining negative-binomial regression models and expert interviews, we indeed find that mandated gender quotas promote ‘individual’ parliamentary activities (e.g. speeches) and tend to impede ‘collaborative’ parliamentary activities (e.g. reports).


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 808-828
Author(s):  
Woojae Han ◽  
Jason Matejkowski ◽  
Sungkyu Lee

Little is known about how mental health court (MHC) experiences (including satisfaction and sanctioning, incentivizing, and life change events) differ by race and how this variation affects recidivism among MHC participants. This study examined how MHC experiences and recidivism differ between White ( n = 170) and Black ( n = 132) participants from four different MHCs in the United Sates. Negative binomial regression models, conducted separately for the two groups, indicated that life changes were associated with decreased arrests and that court sanctions were associated with increased number of arrests for both White and Black participants. Higher program satisfaction was positively associated with recidivism among Black participants only. To provide equitable services for people convicted of a crime with mental illness, professionals should acknowledge racial variation in the experiences of MHC participants (both within the MHC and the communities in which they are situated) and how these experiences relate to recidivism.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 8155
Author(s):  
Donald A. Chapman ◽  
Johan Eyckmans ◽  
Karel Van Acker

Private car-use is a major contributor of greenhouse gases. Car-sharing is often hypothesised as a potential solution to reduce car-ownership, which can lead to car-sharing users reducing their car-use. However, there is a risk that car-sharing may also increase car-use amongst some users. Existing studies on the impacts of car-sharing on car-use are often based on estimates of the users’ own judgement of the effects; few studies make use of quasi-experimental methods. In this paper, the impact of car-sharing on car-ownership and car-use in Flanders, Belgium is estimated using survey data from both sharers and non-sharers. The impact on car-use is estimated using zero-inflated negative binomial regression, applied to matched samples of car-sharing users and non-users. The results show that the car-sharing may reduce car-use, but only if a significant number of users reduce their car-ownership. Policy intervention may therefore be required to ensure car-sharing leads to a reduction in car-use by, for example, discouraging car-ownership. Further research using quasi-experimental methods is required to illuminate whether the promise of car-sharing is reflected in reality.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 463-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janneke Berecki-Gisolf ◽  
Bosco Rowland ◽  
Nicola Reavley ◽  
Barbara Minuzzo ◽  
John Toumbourou

BackgroundInjuries are one of the three leading causes of morbidity and mortality for young people internationally. Although community risk factors are modifiable causes of youth injury, there has been limited evaluation of community interventions. Communities That Care (CTC) offers a coalition training process to increase evidence-based practices that reduce youth injury risk factors.MethodUsing a non-experimental design, this study made use of population-based hospital admissions data to evaluate the impact on injuries for 15 communities that implemented CTC between 2001 and 2017 in Victoria, Australia. Negative binomial regression models evaluated trends in injury admissions (all, unintentional and transport), comparing CTC and non-CTC communities across different age groups.ResultsStatistically significant relative reductions in all hospital injury admissions in 0–4 year olds were associated with communities completing the CTC process and in 0–19 year olds when communities began their second cycle of CTC. When analysed by subgroup, a similar pattern was observed with unintentional injuries but not with transport injuries.ConclusionThe findings support CTC coalition training as an intervention strategy for preventing youth hospital injury admissions. However, future studies should consider stronger research designs, confirm findings in different community contexts, use other data sources and evaluate intervention mechanisms.


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