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Impacts of anxiety and socioeconomic factors on mental health in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population in Japan: A web-based survey

Owing to the rapid spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic worldwide, individuals experience considerable psychological distress daily. The present study aimed to clarify the prevalence of psychological distress and determine the population most affected b...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Nagasu, Miwako, Muto, Kaori, Yamamoto, Isamu
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7968643/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33730044
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247705
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author Nagasu, Miwako
Muto, Kaori
Yamamoto, Isamu
author_facet Nagasu, Miwako
Muto, Kaori
Yamamoto, Isamu
author_sort Nagasu, Miwako
collection PubMed
description Owing to the rapid spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic worldwide, individuals experience considerable psychological distress daily. The present study aimed to clarify the prevalence of psychological distress and determine the population most affected by risk factors such as the pandemic, socioeconomic status (SES), and lifestyle-related factors causing psychological distress in the early phases of the pandemic in Japan. This study was conducted via a web-based survey using quota sampling to ensure representativeness of the Japanese population aged 20–64 years. A cross-sectional study of 11,342 participants (5,734 males and 5,608 females) was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire that included the Japanese version of the Kessler 6 Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and questions related to the pandemic, SES, and lifestyle. The prevalence of psychological distress, represented by a K6 score of 5 or more, was 50.3% among males and 52.6% among females. Both males and females with annual household incomes less than 2 million yen and males aged in their twenties had significantly higher K6 scores than those with annual household incomes above 2 million yen and males aged over 30 years. Binary logistic regression analyses found pandemic-related factors such as medical history, inability to undergo clinical tests immediately, having trouble in daily life, unavailability of groceries, new work style, and vague anxiety; SES-related factors such as lesser income; and lifestyle-related factors such as insufficient rest, sleep, and nutritious meals to be significantly related to psychological distress. Psychological distress was more prevalent among people with low income and in younger generations than among other groups. There is an urgent need to provide financial, medical, and social support to those affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
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spelling pubmed-79686432021-03-31 Impacts of anxiety and socioeconomic factors on mental health in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population in Japan: A web-based survey Nagasu, Miwako Muto, Kaori Yamamoto, Isamu PLoS One Research Article Owing to the rapid spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic worldwide, individuals experience considerable psychological distress daily. The present study aimed to clarify the prevalence of psychological distress and determine the population most affected by risk factors such as the pandemic, socioeconomic status (SES), and lifestyle-related factors causing psychological distress in the early phases of the pandemic in Japan. This study was conducted via a web-based survey using quota sampling to ensure representativeness of the Japanese population aged 20–64 years. A cross-sectional study of 11,342 participants (5,734 males and 5,608 females) was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire that included the Japanese version of the Kessler 6 Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and questions related to the pandemic, SES, and lifestyle. The prevalence of psychological distress, represented by a K6 score of 5 or more, was 50.3% among males and 52.6% among females. Both males and females with annual household incomes less than 2 million yen and males aged in their twenties had significantly higher K6 scores than those with annual household incomes above 2 million yen and males aged over 30 years. Binary logistic regression analyses found pandemic-related factors such as medical history, inability to undergo clinical tests immediately, having trouble in daily life, unavailability of groceries, new work style, and vague anxiety; SES-related factors such as lesser income; and lifestyle-related factors such as insufficient rest, sleep, and nutritious meals to be significantly related to psychological distress. Psychological distress was more prevalent among people with low income and in younger generations than among other groups. There is an urgent need to provide financial, medical, and social support to those affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Public Library of Science 2021-03-17 /pmc/articles/PMC7968643/ /pubmed/33730044 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247705 Text en © 2021 Nagasu et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Nagasu, Miwako
Muto, Kaori
Yamamoto, Isamu
Impacts of anxiety and socioeconomic factors on mental health in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population in Japan: A web-based survey
title Impacts of anxiety and socioeconomic factors on mental health in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population in Japan: A web-based survey
title_full Impacts of anxiety and socioeconomic factors on mental health in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population in Japan: A web-based survey
title_fullStr Impacts of anxiety and socioeconomic factors on mental health in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population in Japan: A web-based survey
title_full_unstemmed Impacts of anxiety and socioeconomic factors on mental health in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population in Japan: A web-based survey
title_short Impacts of anxiety and socioeconomic factors on mental health in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population in Japan: A web-based survey
title_sort impacts of anxiety and socioeconomic factors on mental health in the early phases of the covid-19 pandemic in the general population in japan: a web-based survey
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7968643/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33730044
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247705
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