Dataset Information

Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on psychological health and nutritional habits in Italy: results from the #PRESTOinsieme study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The present work aims to present the results of the 'PRESTOinsieme' (which is 'we will be together soon' in English). The web-based survey (www.prestoinsieme.com) describes changes in lifestyle habits and symptoms of psychological discomfort in the Italian population during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Design

Cross-sectional online survey disseminated by messaging apps (ie, WhatsApp and Telegram) and social networks (ie, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn).

Setting

Italy.

Participants

Italian population older than 16 years of age.

Exposure

COVID-19 lockdown.

Main outcomes and measures

Survey respondents filled out a set of validated questionnaires aimed at assessing lifestyle habits and psychological health, that is, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to screen for psychological distress, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) to screen for post-traumatic stress and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).

Results

Survey respondents totalled 5008. Moderate or severe psychological distress was reported in 25.5% and 22% of survey respondents, respectively. Lower age, female gender, being unemployed (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.22 to 2.02) or being a student (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.31 to 2.28) were predictors of more severe depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

The present study is one of the largest population-based surveys conducted in Italy during the first COVID-19 lockdown, providing valuable data about the Italian population's psychological health. Further studies should be conducted to understand whether psychological distress persists after the end of the lockdown.

SUBMITTER: Lorenzoni G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8983406 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on psychological health and nutritional habits in Italy: results from the #PRESTOinsieme study.

Lorenzoni Giulia G Azzolina Danila D Maresio Elisabetta E Gallipoli Silvia S Ghidina Marco M Baldas Solidea S Berchialla Paola P Giron Maria Cecilia MC Silano Marco M Gregori Dario D

BMJ open 20220405 4

<h4>Objectives</h4>The present work aims to present the results of the '<i>PRESTOinsieme</i>' (which is '<i>we will be together soon</i>' in English). The web-based survey (www.prestoinsieme.com) describes changes in lifestyle habits and symptoms of psychological discomfort in the Italian population during the COVID-19 lockdown.<h4>Design</h4>Cross-sectional online survey disseminated by messaging apps (ie, WhatsApp and Telegram) and social networks (ie, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn).<h4>Set ...[more]

PMID: 35383054

Similar Datasets

Project description:The COVID-19 emergency has severely affected the Italian population. During a pandemic, those with high health anxiety are at risk of adverse mental health outcomes, including peritraumatic distress and mood disturbance. No prior research has explored the role of psychological flexibility in protecting people at high risk of poorer mental health impacts due to health anxiety during a pandemic. Psychological flexibility is the cornerstone of psychological health and resiliency. According to acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), it involves behaving consistently with one's chosen values even in the presence of emotional and mental discomfort. This study examined the mediating and moderating roles of psychological flexibility in the link between trait health anxiety and three mental health outcomes: COVID-19 peritraumatic distress, anxiety, and depression. We hypothesized that higher psychological flexibility would decrease the negative impacts of trait health anxiety on mental health outcomes. During the mandatory national lockdown (M = 35.70 days, SD = 8.41), 944 Italian adults (75.5% female, M = 38.86 years, SD = 13.20) completed an online survey consisting of standardized measures of psychological flexibility, trait health anxiety, COVID-19 distress, anxiety, and depression. Results indicated that psychological flexibility did not moderate the link between trait health anxiety and mental health outcomes. Rather, greater psychological flexibility mediated decreases in the adverse effects of trait health anxiety on COVID-19 distress, anxiety, and depression. In particular, two psychological flexibility processes, observing unhelpful thoughts rather than taking them literally (defusion) and values-based action (committed action), mediated decreases in the negative effects of trait health anxiety on all mental health outcomes. In contrast, the psychological flexibility process acceptance, which involves openness to inner discomfort, mediated increases in negative mental health outcomes. Overall, the combination of these processes mitigated the detrimental impacts of trait health anxiety on mental health during the emergency mandatory COVID-19 nationwide lockdown. Consistent with the ACT conceptualization of psychological flexibility, findings suggest embracing (rather than avoiding) inner discomfort and observing associated unhelpful thoughts, while also engaging in values-based action, increases resilience during adversity. Evidenced-based large-scale online public health interventions that target psychological flexibility in those experiencing health anxiety in the context of a pandemic are urgently needed. Many empirically-based ACT interventions are suited for this purpose.

Dataset Information

Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on psychological health and nutritional habits in Italy: results from the #PRESTOinsieme study.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Exposure

Main outcomes and measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on psychological health and nutritional habits in Italy: results from the #PRESTOinsieme study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets