Anxiety and depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries and Australia

Abstract Background Studies on mental health changes during the COVID-19 pandemic report no change or increasing prevalence of mental health problems in general, but less is known on changes in potentially disadvantaged groups over time. We investigated changes in anxiety and depression symptoms during the first year of the pandemic in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Australia by prior mental disorders and migration status. Methods Overall, 4,674 adults answered a web-based survey in May-June 2020 and were followed by three repeated surveys up to February 2021 in these countries. Information on socio-demographic, living conditions, psychosocial factors, diagnosis of mental disorders before, depression and anxiety symptoms during the pandemic and migration status (being a resident or not) was collected. Weighted general estimation equations modelling was used to investigate the association between prior mental disorders, migration status, and symptoms over time. Results Most participants were <40 years old (48%), women (78%), and highly educated (62%) with some variations across countries. The baseline prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms ranged between 19%-45% and 13%-35% respectively. In most countries, prevalence remained unchanged throughout the pandemic and was higher among people with prior mental disorder than without even after adjustment for socioeconomic, psychosocial, living and health factors. We observed interactions between previous mental disorders and symptoms of anxiety or depression over time in Germany (p = 0.01) and in Spain (p = 0.04). No prevalence difference was noted by migration status. Conclusions Depression and anxiety symptoms were worse among individuals with prior mental disorders than without, but there was no clear trend of mental health worsening in the observed groups during the first year of the pandemic. Still, monitoring mental health should be continued in the long-term, with special focus on vulnerable groups. Key messages • Depression and anxiety symptoms were higher in individuals with prior mental disorders during the first year of the pandemic in an international sample of six European countries and Australia. • There were no clear trends of mental health worsening in any of the observed groups in neither of the countries between May-June 2020 and February 2021.


Introduction:
Evaluation is an essential dimension of every educational activity, however it is a very crucial and problematic aspect to be considered. It is necessary to focus on some fundamental concepts: the idea of 'measurement', the definition of expected goals for the educational activity, whether they are measurable, and if not, how they can be evaluated. Finally, effectiveness may be assessed only after longer periods of time and by adopting coherent instruments. Outcomes of educational activities on sensitive themes such as sexuality education, are challenging to evaluate through causal relationships. So a fundamental question is: what is really possible to evaluate in the field of sexuality education (SE)? Methods: A desk review was carried out to collect information about national policies, international literature and guidelines on SE evaluation. A literature review was performed to collect and collate reported field experience and evaluation data. Results and discussion: In literature it is possible to find a consistent number of studies aimed at evaluating SE programs (in particular inspired by the models 'abstinence-only' and 'abstinence-plus'), whose goal is to understand their impact on adolescents sexual health. Most of the studies reported limited evidences on SE efficacy on sexual health-related outcomes. This may be attributed to two different causes: methodological -evaluation instruments are epistemologically difficult to develop; and theoretical -the underlying philosophical frameworks they refer to may not fully reflect the complexity of sexuality education for adolescents.

Conclusions:
Based on the findings, evaluation instruments were developed to collect experiences from educators performing school-based sexuality education within the context of EduforIST project funded by the Italian Ministry of Health. Analysis of the collected data were still ongoing at the time of submission. health problems in general, but less is known on changes in potentially disadvantaged groups over time. We investigated changes in anxiety and depression symptoms during the first year of the pandemic in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Australia by prior mental disorders and migration status.

Methods:
Overall, 4,674 adults answered a web-based survey in May-June 2020 and were followed by three repeated surveys up to February 2021 in these countries. Information on sociodemographic, living conditions, psychosocial factors, diagnosis of mental disorders before, depression and anxiety symptoms during the pandemic and migration status (being a resident or not) was collected. Weighted general estimation equations modelling was used to investigate the association between prior mental disorders, migration status, and symptoms over time.

Results:
Most participants were <40 years old (48%), women (78%), and highly educated (62%) with some variations across countries. The baseline prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms ranged between 19%-45% and 13%-35% respectively. In most countries, prevalence remained unchanged throughout the pandemic and was higher among people with prior mental disorder than without even after adjustment for socioeconomic, psychosocial, living and health factors. We observed interactions between previous mental disorders and symptoms of anxiety or depression over time in Germany (p = 0.01) and in Spain (p = 0.04). No prevalence difference was noted by migration status.

Conclusions:
Depression and anxiety symptoms were worse among individuals with prior mental disorders than without, but there was no clear trend of mental health worsening in the observed groups during the first year of the pandemic. Still, monitoring mental health should be continued in the longterm, with special focus on vulnerable groups.

Key messages:
Depression and anxiety symptoms were higher in individuals with prior mental disorders during the first year of the pandemic in an international sample of six European countries and Australia. There were no clear trends of mental health worsening in any of the observed groups in neither of the countries between May-June 2020 and February 2021.

Background:
Evidence about how population mental health has evolved from before and over the COVID-19 pandemic remains mixed, with impacts on mental health inequalities being unclear. We investigated changes in mental health and sociodemographic inequalities from before and across the first year of the pandemic.

Methods:
Data from 11 UK longitudinal population-based studies with pre-pandemic measures of psychological distress were analysed, estimates pooled, and stratified by age, sex, ethnicity, country and lone household status. Trends in the prevalence of poor mental health were assessed before the pandemic (TP0) and across the pandemic at three time periods (initial lockdown (TP1), easing of restrictions (TP2), and a subsequent lockdown (TP3)).

Conclusions:
The substantial deterioration in mental health seen in the UK during the first lockdown did not reverse when lockdown lifted and a sustained worsening was observed across the pandemic. Mental health declines have been unequal across the population and these results have implications for policy, including the need for specific investment for support for those most affected to mitigate the effects of the pandemic and measures to reduce inequalities within these specific groups.

Key messages:
A sustained deterioration in mental health was observed from before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and did not recover when social restrictions were eased. Deterioration in mental health varied by sociodemographic factors, namely age, sex, and education, and highlights a need for improved mental health care provision to minimise widening inequalities.

Abstract citation ID: ckac129.746
The effect of financial support on depression among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background:
To mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial resources, governments provided financial support (e.g., emergency aid funds) as well as family via personal assistance. This study aims to assess the moderating effect of financial support from the government or from family on the association between income loss and depression among young adults.

Methods:
Two online cross-sectional surveys among young adults (18-29) living in Canada and France were conducted in October-December 2020 (n = 4511) and July-December 2021