Psychological distress, Low-income and Socioeconomic Vulnerability in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Albuquerque Santana, Carmen Lucia; Manfrinato, Catarina Vezetiv; Pereira Souza, Paula Regina; Marino, Aluízio; Condé, Vitória Ferreira; Stedefeldt, Elke; Tomita, Luciana Yuki; Franco, Maria do Carmo

Objectives Although literature broadly reports the impact of COVID-19 on global mental health, little is known about the extent of its deleterious impact on the most vulnerable individuals. The current study aimed to evaluate the level of psychological distress of adult’s residents of two urban shantytown communities located in São Paulo city, Brazil. Study design Cross-sectional study. Methods An online questionnaire divided into four sections: (a) informed consent, (b) socioeconomic data, (c) 12-item general health questionnaire, and (d) Brazilian food insecurity scale was applied. Results Of the 495 family headship (448 females and 47 males) the mean age was 36.1 years, 85% have an indication of psychological distress, 61.4% had a monthly income less than or equal to $70 and the incidence of households experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity was 40%. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that respondents who experienced moderate or severe food insecurity (OR=2.701 [CI 95%=1.265–5.769]; P= 0.010) and lower monthly income (OR=2.031 [CI 95%=1.056–3.908]; P=0.034) had a higher risk of psychological distress. On the other hand, have an employment is a protective factor against the stressful situations caused by COVID-19 pandemic (P=0.029). Conclusion The current study identified low-income younger women residents of urban slums who suffer from food insecurity as high-risk groups to have psychological distress. Our findings are of particular importance since showed the intersection of vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 outbreak.