The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health

Mental health research during COVID-19 in the National Core Study - Longitudinal Health and Wellbeing programme 

The COVID-19 pandemic and related mitigation measures resulted in widespread disruptions, with the potential to exacerbate existing mental health inequalities. The UK National Core Studies - Longitudinal Health and Wellbeing programme combined data from multiple UK longitudinal studies and electronic health records (EHR) to answer pandemic-relevant questions. Data from up to 12 longitudinal and multiple EHRs were analysed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various aspects of mental health, including healthcare and employment disruption, lockdown measures and COVID-19 illness. Synthesising evidence across 12 longitudinal studies, we found that individuals with higher pre-pandemic psychological distress were more likely to experience healthcare disruption, loss of employment and loss of income. In a second study, we found sustained deterioration in mental health outcomes during the pandemic, with women, those with degree-level education, and young adults experiencing greater increases in psychological distress. We also identified associations between COVID-19 illness and subsequent deterioration in mental health. Our findings provide new insights into the impact of COVID-19 illness and wider aspects of the pandemic on population mental health outcomes. The collective approach taken utilises the breadth of UK population-based datasets available, aiming to provide more robust evidence on the relationship between COVID-19 and mental health.

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