Association of Unemployment and Government Stringency With the Increased Burden of Anxiety and Depression Amid the Public Health Emergency: A Global Perspective.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has coincided with marked increases in anxiety and depressive disorders. Beyond infection risks, socioeconomic stressors such as rising unemployment and stringent government responses may have contributed substantially to these burdens but remain poorly quantified globally.

Methods

We conducted an ecological country-level cross-sectional study using data from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 database, World Bank Open Data, and Our World in Data, covering 169 countries and territories. Primary outcomes were changes in age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) of anxiety and depressive disorders between 2019 and 2020. Exposures included changes in unemployment rates and the government stringency index (GSI) during the same period. Associations

SUBMITTER: Zhao C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12696339 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature