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Results of the COVID-19 mental health international for the health professionals (COMET-HP) study: depression, suicidal tendencies and conspiracism

Fountoulakis, Konstantinos N. ; Karakatsoulis, Grigorios N. ; Kazakova, Olga and Smirnova, Daria (2023) In Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 58(9). p.1387-1410
Abstract
Introduction: The current study aimed to investigate the rates of anxiety, clinical depression, and suicidality and their changes in health professionals during the COVID-19 outbreak. Materials and methods: The data came from the larger COMET-G study. The study sample includes 12,792 health professionals from 40 countries (62.40% women aged 39.76 ± 11.70; 36.81% men aged 35.91 ± 11.00 and 0.78% non-binary gender aged 35.15 ± 13.03). Distress and clinical depression were identified with the use of a previously developed cut-off and algorithm, respectively. Statistical analysis: Descriptive statistics were calculated. Chi-square tests, multiple forward stepwise linear regression analyses, and Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tested... (More)
Introduction: The current study aimed to investigate the rates of anxiety, clinical depression, and suicidality and their changes in health professionals during the COVID-19 outbreak. Materials and methods: The data came from the larger COMET-G study. The study sample includes 12,792 health professionals from 40 countries (62.40% women aged 39.76 ± 11.70; 36.81% men aged 35.91 ± 11.00 and 0.78% non-binary gender aged 35.15 ± 13.03). Distress and clinical depression were identified with the use of a previously developed cut-off and algorithm, respectively. Statistical analysis: Descriptive statistics were calculated. Chi-square tests, multiple forward stepwise linear regression analyses, and Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tested relations among variables. Results: Clinical depression was detected in 13.16% with male doctors and ‘non-binary genders’ having the lowest rates (7.89 and 5.88% respectively) and ‘non-binary gender’ nurses and administrative staff had the highest (37.50%); distress was present in 15.19%. A significant percentage reported a deterioration in mental state, family dynamics, and everyday lifestyle. Persons with a history of mental disorders had higher rates of current depression (24.64% vs. 9.62%; p < 0.0001). Suicidal tendencies were at least doubled in terms of RASS scores. Approximately one-third of participants were accepting (at least to a moderate degree) a non-bizarre conspiracy. The highest Relative Risk (RR) to develop clinical depression was associated with a history of Bipolar disorder (RR = 4.23). Conclusions: The current study reported findings in health care professionals similar in magnitude and quality to those reported earlier in the general population although rates of clinical depression, suicidal tendencies, and adherence to conspiracy theories were much lower. However, the general model of factors interplay seems to be the same and this could be of practical utility since many of these factors are modifiable. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany. (Less)
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author
; ; and
author collaboration
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Anxiety, Conspiracy theories, COVID-19, Depression, Health professionals, Mental disorders, Mental health, Psychiatry, Suicidality
in
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
volume
58
issue
9
pages
1387 - 1410
publisher
Steinkopff
external identifiers
  • scopus:85149213713
  • pmid:36867224
ISSN
0933-7954
DOI
10.1007/s00127-023-02438-8
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
2e83cc95-7b86-4fec-a49f-7b99cf8cff73
date added to LUP
2023-03-20 12:00:33
date last changed
2023-10-26 15:00:27
@article{2e83cc95-7b86-4fec-a49f-7b99cf8cff73,
  abstract     = {{Introduction: The current study aimed to investigate the rates of anxiety, clinical depression, and suicidality and their changes in health professionals during the COVID-19 outbreak. Materials and methods: The data came from the larger COMET-G study. The study sample includes 12,792 health professionals from 40 countries (62.40% women aged 39.76 ± 11.70; 36.81% men aged 35.91 ± 11.00 and 0.78% non-binary gender aged 35.15 ± 13.03). Distress and clinical depression were identified with the use of a previously developed cut-off and algorithm, respectively. Statistical analysis: Descriptive statistics were calculated. Chi-square tests, multiple forward stepwise linear regression analyses, and Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tested relations among variables. Results: Clinical depression was detected in 13.16% with male doctors and ‘non-binary genders’ having the lowest rates (7.89 and 5.88% respectively) and ‘non-binary gender’ nurses and administrative staff had the highest (37.50%); distress was present in 15.19%. A significant percentage reported a deterioration in mental state, family dynamics, and everyday lifestyle. Persons with a history of mental disorders had higher rates of current depression (24.64% vs. 9.62%; p &lt; 0.0001). Suicidal tendencies were at least doubled in terms of RASS scores. Approximately one-third of participants were accepting (at least to a moderate degree) a non-bizarre conspiracy. The highest Relative Risk (RR) to develop clinical depression was associated with a history of Bipolar disorder (RR = 4.23). Conclusions: The current study reported findings in health care professionals similar in magnitude and quality to those reported earlier in the general population although rates of clinical depression, suicidal tendencies, and adherence to conspiracy theories were much lower. However, the general model of factors interplay seems to be the same and this could be of practical utility since many of these factors are modifiable. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.}},
  author       = {{Fountoulakis, Konstantinos N. and Karakatsoulis, Grigorios N. and Kazakova, Olga and Smirnova, Daria}},
  issn         = {{0933-7954}},
  keywords     = {{Anxiety; Conspiracy theories; COVID-19; Depression; Health professionals; Mental disorders; Mental health; Psychiatry; Suicidality}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{1387--1410}},
  publisher    = {{Steinkopff}},
  series       = {{Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology}},
  title        = {{Results of the COVID-19 mental health international for the health professionals (COMET-HP) study: depression, suicidal tendencies and conspiracism}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-023-02438-8}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s00127-023-02438-8}},
  volume       = {{58}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}