Sociodemographic and lifestyle predictors of mental health adaptability during COVID-19 compulsory confinement: A longitudinal study in the Portuguese population

Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 and the physical isolation measures taken by the governments to reduce its propagation might have negative psychological consequences on the population. In this study, we aimed to explore, for the first time, how mental health status fluctuated along the weeks of the emergency state in Portugal, and to identify which factors may shape these changes in mental health outcomes. Methods: To this end, we conducted an online survey to evaluate demographic, lifestyle and mental health variables (DASS-21 and quality of life) in the Portuguese population at three different time-points. 748 participants (mean age = 39.52, % females = 79.95) provided data at all time-points. Results: We observed that depression, anxiety and stress symptoms seemed to improve as the weeks passed during the state of emergency, while the perception of quality of life and sleep got worse. In particular, being female, younger, actively working, and extroverted appear to be protective factors of mental health adaptability during this particular period. On the contrary, having a psychiatric diagnosis or physical illness, and higher neuroticism seem to be risk factors for mental health worsening. Limitations: The lack of a more diverse sample could limit the generalizability of our results, and other factors that were not considered in our analysis might also have a significant impact on mental health. Conclusions: Our results provide relevant and novel insights about the course of mental health changes and its predictors during the outbreak of COVID-19, which may help identify potential vulnerability groups.

Automated summary

The study found that during the state of emergency in Portugal, depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms appeared to improve gradually, while the perception of quality of life and sleep worsened. Being female, younger, actively working, and extroverted seemed to be protective factors for mental health adaptability during this period, while having a psychiatric diagnosis or physical illness, and higher neuroticism seemed to be risk factors for mental health deterioration.