Social Inequalities in Mental Health and Self-Perceived Health in the First Wave of COVID-19 Lockdown in Latin America and Spain : Results of an Online Observational Study
Salas Quijada, Carmen (Universidad Austral de Chile)
López-Contreras, Natalia (Universidad de La Frontera)
López-Jiménez, Tomàs (Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol)
Medina-Perucha, Laura (Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol)
León-Gómez, Brenda Biaani (Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol)
Peralta Chiriboga, Alejandro Andrés (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE))
Arteaga-Contreras, Karen M. (Anillo Periférico #2767, Ed.5 P.B.)
Berenguera, Anna (Universitat de Girona)
Gonçalves, A. Q (Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol)
Horna Campos, Olivia Janett (Universidad de Chile)
Mazzei, Marinella (Universidad de Chile)
Anigstein, Maria Sol (Universidad de Chile)
Ribeiro Barbosa, Jakeline (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Brasil))
Bardales-Mendoza, Olga (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia)
Benach, Joan (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
Borges Machado, Daiane (Harvard Medical School)
Torres Castillo, Ana Lucía (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE))
Jacques-Aviñó, Constanza (Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Date:	2023
Abstract:	COVID-19 lockdowns greatly affected the mental health of populations and collectives. This study compares the mental health and self-perceived health in five countries of Latin America and Spain, during the first wave of COVID 19 lockdown, according to social axes of inequality. This was a cross-sectional study using an online, self-managed survey in Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Spain. Self-perceived health (SPH), anxiety (measured through GAD-7) and depression (measured through PHQ-9) were measured along with lockdown, COVID-19, and social variables. The prevalence of poor SPH, anxiety, and depression was calculated. The analyses were stratified by gender (men = M; women = W) and country. The data from 39,006 people were analyzed (W = 71. 9%). There was a higher prevalence of poor SPH and bad mental health in women in all countries studied. Peru had the worst SPH results, while Chile and Ecuador had the worst mental health indicators. Spain had the lowest prevalence of poor SPH and mental health. The prevalence of anxiety and depression decreased as age increased. Unemployment, poor working conditions, inadequate housing, and the highest unpaid workload were associated with worse mental health and poor SPH, especially in women. In future policies, worldwide public measures should consider the great social inequalities in health present between and within countries in order to tackle health emergencies while reducing the health breach between populations.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	COVID-19 ; Inequities ; Lockdown ; Mental health ; Self-perceived health ; Social impact
Published in:	International journal of environmental research and public health, Vol. 20 (may 2023) , ISSN 1660-4601

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20095722
PMID: 37174240

23 p, 1.1 MB

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