TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Were anxiety, depression and psychological distress associated with local mortality rates during COVID-19 outbreak in Italy? Findings from the COMET study
JO  - Journal of psychiatric research
A1  - Carrà, Giuseppe
A1  - Crocamo, Cristina
A1  - Bartoli, Francesco
A1  - Riboldi, Ilaria
A1  - Sampogna, Gaia
A1  - Luciano, Mario
A1  - Albert, Umberto
A1  - Carmassi, Claudia
A1  - Cirulli, Francesca
A1  - Dell'osso, Bernardo
A1  - Menculini, Giulia
A1  - Nanni, Maria Giulia
A1  - Pompili, Maurizio
A1  - Sani, Gabriele
A1  - Volpe, Umberto
A1  - Fiorillo, Andrea
SP  - 242
EP  - 249
VL  - 152
IS  - 
N2  - BACKGROUND: The mental health of the Italian population declined at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, nationwide population prevalence estimates may not effectively reproduce the heterogeneity in distress responses to the pandemic. In particular, contextual determinants specific to COVID-19 pandemic need to be considered. We thus aimed to explore the association between local COVID-19 mortality rates and mental health response among the general population. <br><br>METHODS: We capitalised on data (N = 17,628) from a large, cross-sectional, national survey, the COMET study, run between March and May 2020. While psychological distress was measured by General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21) was used to assess relevant domains. In addition, a Covid-19 mortality ratio was built to compare single regional mortality rates to the national estimate and official statistics were used to control for other area-level determinants. <br><br>RESULTS: Adjusted ordered regression analyses showed an association between mortality ratio and moderate (OR = 1.10, 95%CI 1.03-1.18) and severe (OR = 1.11, 95%CI 1.03-1.21) DASS-21 anxiety levels. No effects of mortality ratio on GHQ-12 scores and DASS-21 depression and stress levels, uniformly high across the country, were estimated. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Although we could not find any association between regional COVID-19 mortality ratio and depression or psychological distress, anxiety levels were significantly increased among subjects from areas with the highest mortality rates. Local mortality rate seems a meaningful driver for anxiety among the general population. Considering the potentially long-lasting scenario, local public health authorities should provide neighbouring communities with preventive interventions reducing psychological isolation and anxiety levels.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0022-3956
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.06.018
ID  - ref1
ER  -