Psychological consequences of COVID-19 home confinement: The ECLB-COVID19 multicenter study

Ammar, Achraf; Mueller, Patrick; Trabelsi, Khaled; Chtourou, Hamdi; Boukhris, Omar; Masmoudi, Liwa; Bouaziz, Bassem; Brach, Michael; Schmicker, Marlen; Bentlage, Ellen; How, Daniella; Ahmed, Mona; Aloui, Asma; Hammouda, Omar; Paineiras-Domingos, Laisa Liane; Braakman-jansen, Annemarie; Wrede, Christian; Bastoni, Sophia; Pernambuco, Carlos Soares; Mataruna-Dos-Santos, Leonardo Jose; Taheri, Morteza; Irandoust, Khadijeh; Khacharem, Aïmen; Bragazzi, Nicola L.; Adrian Washif, Jad; Glenn, Jordan M.; Bott, Nicholas T.; Gargouri, Faiez; Chaari, Lotfi; Batatia, Hadj; khoshnami, Samira C.; Samara, Evangelia; Zisi, Vasiliki; Sankar, Parasanth; Ahmed, Waseem N.; Ali, Gamal Mohamed; Abdelkarim, Osama; Jarraya, Mohamed; El Abed, Kais; Romdhani, Mohamed; Souissi, Nizar; Van Gemert-Pijnen, Lisette; Bailey, Stephen J.; Moalla, Wassim; Gómez-Raja, Jonathan; Epstein, Monique; Sanderman, Robbert; Schulz, Sebastian; Jerg, Achim; Al-Horani, Ramzi; Mansi, Taysir; Jmail, Mohamed; Barbosa, Fernando; Ferreira-Santos, Fernando; Šimunič, Boštjan; Pišot, Rado; Gaggioli, Andrea; Zmijewski, Piotr; Steinacker, Jürgen M.; Strahler, Jana; Riemann, Laurel; Riemann, Bryan L.; Mueller, Notger; Chamari, Karim; Driss, Tarak; Hoekelmann, Anita

BACKGROUND: Public health recommendations and government measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have enforced restrictions on daily-living. While these measures are imperative to abate the spreading of COVID-19, the impact of these restrictions on mental health and emotional wellbeing is undefined. Therefore, an international online survey (ECLB-COVID19) was launched on April 6, 2020 in seven languages to elucidate the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on mental health and emotional wellbeing. METHODS: The ECLB-COVID19 electronic survey was designed by a steering group of multidisciplinary scientists, following a structured review of the literature. The survey was uploaded and shared on the Google online-survey-platform and was promoted by thirty-five research organizations from Europe, North-Africa, Western-Asia and the Americas. All participants were asked for their mental wellbeing (SWEMWS) and depressive symptoms (SMFQ) with regard to “during” and “before” home confinement. RESULTS: Analysis was conducted on the first 1047 replies (54% women) from Asia (36%), Africa (40%), Europe (21%) and other (3%). The COVID-19 home confinement had a negative effect on both mental-wellbeing and on mood and feelings. Specifically, a significant decrease (p < .001 and Δ% = 9.4%) in total score of the SWEMWS questionnaire was noted. More individuals (+12.89%) reported a low mental wellbeing “during” compared to “before” home confinement. Furthermore, results from the mood and feelings questionnaire showed a significant increase by 44.9% (p < .001) in SMFQ total score with more people (+10%) showing depressive symptoms “during” compared to “before” home confinement. CONCLUSION: The ECLB-COVID19 survey revealed an increased psychosocial strain triggered by the home confinement. To mitigate this high risk of mental disorders and to foster an Active and Healthy Confinement Lifestyle (AHCL), a crisis-oriented interdisciplinary intervention is urgently needed.