ArticleBehavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)2022
Anxiety and Depression in Belgium during the First 15 Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study.
Article in Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A systematic review of impacts of COVID-19 on depression and anxiety among general populations around the world.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Dynamics of psychological distress: understanding the impact of intraindividual and interindividual factors in the Belgian population during the COVID-19 pandemic-a multilevel prospective cohort study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Exploring the mediating factors in the telework-mental health relationship: a cross-sectional analysis of the BELHEALTH study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Depression and anxiety in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: A 6-waves longitudinal study in the Argentine population.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Article
- Understanding excess mortality during COVID in Belgium: the influence of pre-existing health status and social factors.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Two-years mothering into the pandemic: Impact of the three COVID-19 waves in the Argentinian postpartum women's mental health.PloS one · 2025Article
- Anxiety and depression in people with post-COVID condition: a Belgian population-based cohort study three months after SARS-CoV-2 infection.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024Article
- Mental Health Evaluation in Community Pharmacies-A Cross-Sectional Study.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The association of psychological distress and economic and health worries with tobacco smoking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: a two-year longitudinal cohort study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- The direct disease burden of COVID-19 in Belgium in 2020 and 2021.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Data collection in pandemic times: the case of the Belgian COVID-19 health surveys.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2023Article
- How the Stringency of the COVID-19 Restrictions Influences Motivation for Adherence and Well-Being: The Critical Role of Proportionality.International journal of health policy and management · 2023Article
- Mental Health Symptoms of University Students 15 Months After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic in France.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Media Bias and Factors Affecting the Impartiality of News Agencies during COVID-19.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
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10 authors.
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Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and policy measures enacted to contain the spread of the coronavirus have had nationwide psychological effects. This study aimed to assess the impact of the first 15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic on the level of anxiety (GAD-7 scale) and depression (PHQ-9 scale) of the Belgian adult population. A longitudinal study was conducted from April 2020 to June 2021, with 1838 respondents participating in 6 online surveys. Linear mixed models were used to model the associations between the predictor variables and the mental health outcomes. Results showed that the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression was higher in times of stricter policy measures. Furthermore, after the initial stress from the outbreak, coping and adjustment were observed in participants, as symptoms of anxiety and depression decreased during times of lower policy restrictions to almost the same level as in pre-COVID times (2018). Though time trends were similar for all population subgroups, higher levels of both anxiety and depression were generally found among women, young people, people with poor social support, extraverts, people having pre-existing psychological problems, and people who were infected/exposed to the COVID-19 virus. Therefore, investment in mental health treatment programs and supports, especially for those risk groups, is crucial.
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