The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental and physical health in Denmark – a longitudinal population-based study before and during the first wave
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The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental and physical health in Denmark – a longitudinal population-based study before and during the first wave. / Petersen, Marie Weinreich; Dantoft, Thomas Meinertz; Jensen, Jens Søndergaard; Pedersen, Heidi Frølund; Frostholm, Lisbeth; Benros, Michael Eriksen; Carstensen, Tina Birgitte Wisbech; Ørnbøl, Eva; Fink, Per.
In: BMC Public Health, Vol. 21, 1418, 2021.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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T1 - The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental and physical health in Denmark – a longitudinal population-based study before and during the first wave
AU - Petersen, Marie Weinreich
AU - Dantoft, Thomas Meinertz
AU - Jensen, Jens Søndergaard
AU - Pedersen, Heidi Frølund
AU - Frostholm, Lisbeth
AU - Benros, Michael Eriksen
AU - Carstensen, Tina Birgitte Wisbech
AU - Ørnbøl, Eva
AU - Fink, Per
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Background: In the continuation of the first wave of the Covid-19 outbreak in Denmark, unprecedented restrictions with great impact on the citizen’s everyday life were implemented. The objectives of this study were to investigate the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental and physical health in the Danish population during the spring 2020 first wave outbreak and lockdown. Methods: A sample from the adult Danish population (n = 2190) were included. Self-reported measures of illness worry (Whiteley-6-R), emotional distress (SCL-90), and physical symptom load (SLC-90) were obtained before and during the first wave of the pandemic and compared with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Impact of covariates on physical and mental health was evaluated with ordinal regression analyses. Results from a tailored questionnaire regarding the Covid-19 pandemic were presented to explore the direct impact of the pandemic. Results: We only found minor increases in illness worry, emotional distress and physical symptom load (0–1 points difference, p ≤ 0.007) during the Covid-19 pandemic compared to before the pandemic. Sex, age, education, and physical disease were not associated with illness worry, emotional distress, or physical symptom load. Overall, the participants were trustful in the authorities’ recommendations and felt that they managed the pandemic and the restrictions to a great extent despite that some expected great/major future consequences of the pandemic. Conclusions: This study suggested that the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic only had minor impact on mental and physical health in the Danish general population. Future studies should address the impact of the second wave of the pandemic and the renewed implementation of the concomitant restrictions.
AB - Background: In the continuation of the first wave of the Covid-19 outbreak in Denmark, unprecedented restrictions with great impact on the citizen’s everyday life were implemented. The objectives of this study were to investigate the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental and physical health in the Danish population during the spring 2020 first wave outbreak and lockdown. Methods: A sample from the adult Danish population (n = 2190) were included. Self-reported measures of illness worry (Whiteley-6-R), emotional distress (SCL-90), and physical symptom load (SLC-90) were obtained before and during the first wave of the pandemic and compared with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Impact of covariates on physical and mental health was evaluated with ordinal regression analyses. Results from a tailored questionnaire regarding the Covid-19 pandemic were presented to explore the direct impact of the pandemic. Results: We only found minor increases in illness worry, emotional distress and physical symptom load (0–1 points difference, p ≤ 0.007) during the Covid-19 pandemic compared to before the pandemic. Sex, age, education, and physical disease were not associated with illness worry, emotional distress, or physical symptom load. Overall, the participants were trustful in the authorities’ recommendations and felt that they managed the pandemic and the restrictions to a great extent despite that some expected great/major future consequences of the pandemic. Conclusions: This study suggested that the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic only had minor impact on mental and physical health in the Danish general population. Future studies should address the impact of the second wave of the pandemic and the renewed implementation of the concomitant restrictions.
KW - Corona virus
KW - Covid-19
KW - Emotional distress
KW - Health anxiety
KW - Illness worry
KW - Longitudinal cohort study
KW - Mental health
KW - Physical health
KW - Somatic symptoms
U2 - 10.1186/s12889-021-11472-7
DO - 10.1186/s12889-021-11472-7
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34275461
AN - SCOPUS:85111802088
VL - 21
JO - BMC Public Health
JF - BMC Public Health
SN - 1471-2458
M1 - 1418
ER -
ID: 276271666