ArticleLancet regional health. Americas2022
Persistent depressive symptoms during COVID-19: a national, population-representative, longitudinal study of U.S. adults.
Article in Lancet regional health. Americas, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 129 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
129 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 208 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Assets and depression in U.S. adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024Pooled it
- The conscious processing of emotion in depression disorder: a meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Prevalence and factors associated with depression, anxiety and stress in Malaysia during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Integrated Behavioral Interventions for Adults with Comorbid Obesity and Depression: a Systematic Review.Current diabetes reports · 2022Pooled it
- Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy of a Smartphone App-Led Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression Under Therapist Supervision: Open Trial.JMIR mental health · 2024Trial
- Effects of a virtual voice-based coach delivering problem-solving treatment on emotional distress and brain function: a pilot RCT in depression and anxiety.Translational psychiatry · 2023Trial
- Multi-Sector Assessment and Client-Perception of Social Need at Long-Term Follow-Up of a Group-Randomized Trial of Community-Engaged Collaborative Care for Adults with Depression.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Differential burden of five major mental disorders in the United States across the COVID-19 pandemic.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Socioenvironmental disasters and the dialectics of overdose mortality.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Article
- Simulating COVID-19 lockdowns' impact on depressive symptoms in the northern Netherlands.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Public opinion trends in American society: Lessons from social science infrastructure.PNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Housing Instability Following Medical Debt Exposure Among US Adults, 2023 to 2025.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Factors Associated with Acute and Persistence of Depressive Symptoms among the General Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea: An Online Longitudinal Survey Study.Chonnam medical journal · 2026Article
- A nation of caregivers: past, present, and future expectations of caregiving.Health affairs scholar · 2026Article
- Determinants of depression help-seeking intentions in Xizang, China: leveraging the Andersen model for mental health services utilization improvement.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Restricted Social Engagement Is Associated With Depressive Symptoms in Older Chinese Adults: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Prospective association between depressive symptoms and incident hypertension: Results from the Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos.Journal of affective disorders · 2025Article
- Factors Associated With the Level of Trust in Health Information Robots Among the General Population From a Socioecological Model Perspective: Network Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
69 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences have been associated with an increase in poor population mental health. We assessed how depressive symptoms changed among U.S. adults over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and identified the key risk factors for these symptoms.
methodsLongitudinal panel study of a nationally representative group of U.S. adults ages 18 years and older surveyed in March-April 2020 (Time 1; N=1441) and March-April 2021 (Time 2; N=1161) in the COVID-19 and Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-being study (CLIMB). The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to define elevated depressive symptoms (cut-off ≥10) and depressive symptoms score (0-27).
findingsThe prevalence of elevated depressive symptoms persisted from 27.8% in 2020 (95% CI: 24.9, 30.9) to 32.8% in 2021 (95% CI: 29.1, 36.8). Over time, the central drivers of depressive symptoms were low household income, not being married, and experiencing multiple stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The odds ratio of elevated depressive symptoms for low income relative to high income persons increased from 2.3 (95% CI: 1.2, 4.2) in 2020 to 7.0 (95% CI: 3.7, 13.3) in 2021. Fewer people reported experiencing 4 or more COVID-19 stressors in 2021 than in 2020 (47.5% in 2020 vs 37.1% in 2021), but the odds ratio of elevated depressive symptoms associated with 4 or more stressors relative to 1 stressor or less increased from 1.9 (95% CI: 1.2, 3.1) in 2020 to 5.4 (95% CI: 3.2, 9.2) in 2021.
interpretationThe burden of depressive symptoms in the U.S. adult population increased over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health gaps grew between populations with different assets and stressor experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
fundingCLIMB Time 1 was sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation-Boston University 3-D Commission. CLIMB Time 2 was sponsored by the de Beaumont Foundation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.