ArticlePublic health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)
General Mental Health, Loneliness, and Life Satisfaction in the Context of COVID-19 Policies: A 2-Year Cohort Study in the Netherlands, April 2020-January 2022.
Article in Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974). The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Psychosocial trajectories in Germany across a decade of societal crises.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Adolescents' health and well-being into the COVID-19 pandemic: A two-wave prospective investigation- The HUNT study.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Estimating the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 transmission in the Netherlands.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Exploring Spiritual Needs and Loneliness Among Acutely Hospitalized Patients with Chronic Illnesses: An Observational Study Across Three Waves of the COVID-19 Epidemic in Taiwan.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Observational
- Outpatient mental health care during high incidence phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany - changes in utilization, challenges and post-COVID care.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2024Article
- Intersectional inequalities in mental health by education, income, gender, and age before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands: a longitudinal study.International journal for equity in health · 2024Article
- Crossroads of well-being and compliance: a qualitative cohort study of visitor restriction policy during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Netherlands, May 2020-December 2021.BMC public health · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveAlthough the COVID-19 pandemic has affected mental health, understanding who has been affected most and why is incomplete. We sought to understand changes in mental health in the context of transmission numbers and pandemic (social) restrictions and whether changes in mental health varied among population groups.
methodsWe analyzed data from 92 062 people (aged ≥16 years and able to read Dutch) who participated in the Corona Behavioral Unit cohort study at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, the Netherlands, from April 17, 2020, through January 25, 2022. Participants self-reported mental well-being through multiple rounds of surveys. We used a multivariable linear mixed-effects model to analyze loneliness, general mental health, and life satisfaction.
resultsAs strictness of pandemic prevention measures and social restrictions increased, people's feelings of loneliness increased and mental health and life satisfaction decreased. As restrictions were relaxed, loneliness decreased and general mental health improved. Younger people (aged 16-24 y) versus older people (aged ≥40 y), people with low (vs high) education levels, and people living alone (vs living together) were more likely to have negative well-being outcomes. We observed that trajectories over time differed considerably only by age, with participants aged 16-24 years affected substantially more than participants aged ≥40 years by pandemic social restrictions. These patterns were consistent across multiple waves of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
conclusionsOur findings suggest that the social restrictions imposed by the Dutch government during the study period were associated with reduced mental well-being, especially among younger people. However, people appeared resilient as they recovered during periods when restrictions were relaxed. Monitoring and supporting well-being, in particular to reduce loneliness, may help younger people during periods of intense social restrictions.
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