Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic : A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans. / V Varga, Tibor; Bu, Feifei; Dissing, Agnete Skovlund; Elsenburg, Leonie K.; Herranz Bustamante, Joel J.; Matta, Joane; van Zon, Sander K.R.; Brouwer, Sandra; Bültmann, Ute; Fancourt, Daisy; Hoeyer, Klaus; Goldberg, Marcel; Melchior, Maria; Strandberg-Larsen, Katrine; Zins, Marie; Clotworthy, Amy; Rod, Naja Hulvej.

In: The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, Vol. 2, 100020, 2021.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

V Varga, T, Bu, F, Dissing, AS, Elsenburg, LK, Herranz Bustamante, JJ, Matta, J, van Zon, SKR, Brouwer, S, Bültmann, U, Fancourt, D, Hoeyer, K, Goldberg, M, Melchior, M, Strandberg-Larsen, K, Zins, M, Clotworthy, A & Rod, NH 2021, 'Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans', The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, vol. 2, 100020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2020.100020

APA

V Varga, T., Bu, F., Dissing, A. S., Elsenburg, L. K., Herranz Bustamante, J. J., Matta, J., van Zon, S. K. R., Brouwer, S., Bültmann, U., Fancourt, D., Hoeyer, K., Goldberg, M., Melchior, M., Strandberg-Larsen, K., Zins, M., Clotworthy, A., & Rod, N. H. (2021). Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans. The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 2, [100020]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2020.100020

Vancouver

V Varga T, Bu F, Dissing AS, Elsenburg LK, Herranz Bustamante JJ, Matta J et al. Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans. The Lancet Regional Health - Europe. 2021;2. 100020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2020.100020

Author

V Varga, Tibor ; Bu, Feifei ; Dissing, Agnete Skovlund ; Elsenburg, Leonie K. ; Herranz Bustamante, Joel J. ; Matta, Joane ; van Zon, Sander K.R. ; Brouwer, Sandra ; Bültmann, Ute ; Fancourt, Daisy ; Hoeyer, Klaus ; Goldberg, Marcel ; Melchior, Maria ; Strandberg-Larsen, Katrine ; Zins, Marie ; Clotworthy, Amy ; Rod, Naja Hulvej. / Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic : A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans. In: The Lancet Regional Health - Europe. 2021 ; Vol. 2.

Bibtex

@article{d8ee83cbde5343bf9461e8c26134dcf1,

title = "Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans",

abstract = "Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world instituted various public-health measures. Our project aimed to highlight the most significant similarities and differences in key mental-health indicators between four Western and Northern European countries, and identify the population subgroups with the poorest mental-health outcomes during the first months of the pandemic.Methods: We analysed time-series survey data of 205,084 individuals from seven studies from Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the UK to assess the impact of the pandemic and associated lockdowns. All analyses focused on the initial lockdown phase (March-July 2020). The main outcomes were loneliness, anxiety, and COVID-19-related worries and precautionary behaviours.Findings: COVID-19-related worries were consistently high in each country but decreased during the gradual reopening phases. While only 7% of the respondents reported high levels of loneliness in the Netherlands, percentages were higher in the rest of the three countries (1318%). In all four countries, younger individuals and individuals with a history of mental illness expressed the highest levels of loneliness.Interpretation: The pandemic and associated country lockdowns had a major impact on the mental health of populations, and certain subgroups should be closely followed to prevent negative long-term consequences. Younger individuals and individuals with a history of mental illness would benefit from tailored public-health interventions to prevent or counteract the negative effects of the pandemic. Individuals across Western and Northern Europe have thus far responded in psychologically similar ways despite differences in governmentapproaches to the pandemic.",

author = "{V Varga}, Tibor and Feifei Bu and Dissing, {Agnete Skovlund} and Elsenburg, {Leonie K.} and {Herranz Bustamante}, {Joel J.} and Joane Matta and {van Zon}, {Sander K.R.} and Sandra Brouwer and Ute B{\"u}ltmann and Daisy Fancourt and Klaus Hoeyer and Marcel Goldberg and Maria Melchior and Katrine Strandberg-Larsen and Marie Zins and Amy Clotworthy and Rod, {Naja Hulvej}",

year = "2021",

doi = "10.1016/j.lanepe.2020.100020",

language = "English",

volume = "2",

journal = "The Lancet Regional Health - Europe",

issn = "2666-7762",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

T2 - A longitudinal analysis of 200,000 Western and Northern Europeans

AU - V Varga, Tibor

AU - Bu, Feifei

AU - Dissing, Agnete Skovlund

AU - Elsenburg, Leonie K.

AU - Herranz Bustamante, Joel J.

AU - Matta, Joane

AU - van Zon, Sander K.R.

AU - Brouwer, Sandra

AU - Bültmann, Ute

AU - Fancourt, Daisy

AU - Hoeyer, Klaus

AU - Goldberg, Marcel

AU - Melchior, Maria

AU - Strandberg-Larsen, Katrine

AU - Zins, Marie

AU - Clotworthy, Amy

AU - Rod, Naja Hulvej

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world instituted various public-health measures. Our project aimed to highlight the most significant similarities and differences in key mental-health indicators between four Western and Northern European countries, and identify the population subgroups with the poorest mental-health outcomes during the first months of the pandemic.Methods: We analysed time-series survey data of 205,084 individuals from seven studies from Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the UK to assess the impact of the pandemic and associated lockdowns. All analyses focused on the initial lockdown phase (March-July 2020). The main outcomes were loneliness, anxiety, and COVID-19-related worries and precautionary behaviours.Findings: COVID-19-related worries were consistently high in each country but decreased during the gradual reopening phases. While only 7% of the respondents reported high levels of loneliness in the Netherlands, percentages were higher in the rest of the three countries (1318%). In all four countries, younger individuals and individuals with a history of mental illness expressed the highest levels of loneliness.Interpretation: The pandemic and associated country lockdowns had a major impact on the mental health of populations, and certain subgroups should be closely followed to prevent negative long-term consequences. Younger individuals and individuals with a history of mental illness would benefit from tailored public-health interventions to prevent or counteract the negative effects of the pandemic. Individuals across Western and Northern Europe have thus far responded in psychologically similar ways despite differences in governmentapproaches to the pandemic.

AB - Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world instituted various public-health measures. Our project aimed to highlight the most significant similarities and differences in key mental-health indicators between four Western and Northern European countries, and identify the population subgroups with the poorest mental-health outcomes during the first months of the pandemic.Methods: We analysed time-series survey data of 205,084 individuals from seven studies from Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the UK to assess the impact of the pandemic and associated lockdowns. All analyses focused on the initial lockdown phase (March-July 2020). The main outcomes were loneliness, anxiety, and COVID-19-related worries and precautionary behaviours.Findings: COVID-19-related worries were consistently high in each country but decreased during the gradual reopening phases. While only 7% of the respondents reported high levels of loneliness in the Netherlands, percentages were higher in the rest of the three countries (1318%). In all four countries, younger individuals and individuals with a history of mental illness expressed the highest levels of loneliness.Interpretation: The pandemic and associated country lockdowns had a major impact on the mental health of populations, and certain subgroups should be closely followed to prevent negative long-term consequences. Younger individuals and individuals with a history of mental illness would benefit from tailored public-health interventions to prevent or counteract the negative effects of the pandemic. Individuals across Western and Northern Europe have thus far responded in psychologically similar ways despite differences in governmentapproaches to the pandemic.

U2 - 10.1016/j.lanepe.2020.100020

DO - 10.1016/j.lanepe.2020.100020

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33870246

VL - 2

JO - The Lancet Regional Health - Europe

JF - The Lancet Regional Health - Europe

SN - 2666-7762

M1 - 100020

ER -

ID: 259888334