Psychological distress among people with probable COVID-19 infection: analysis of the UK Household Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Studies exploring the longer-term effects of experiencing coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) on mental health are lacking. We explored the relationship between reporting probable COVID-19 symptoms in April 2020 and psychological distress (measured using the General Health Questionnaire) 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 months later. Data were taken from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative household panel survey of UK adults. Elevated levels of psychological distress were found up to 7 months after probable COVID-19, compared with participants with no likely infection. Associations were stronger among younger age groups and men. Further research into the psychological sequalae of COVID-19 is urgently needed.

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Available under License Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Identifiers

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2021.63

Repository URI

http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/240269/