Primary Submission Category: Mental health/function
The Unequal Toll: Identifying Mental Health Disparities in U.S. Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: CeRon Ford,
Presenting Author: CeRon Ford*
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying policy responses impacted mental health outcomes for all U.S. adults. Depressive symptoms among all U.S. adults increased before and throughout the onset of the pandemic. Less is known about how subgroups based on race/ethnicity, sex, and sexual identity experienced depressive symptoms in the time surrounding the pandemic.
Objective: Apply an intersectional approach to identify disparities in mental health outcomes before and after the onset of the pandemic.
Methods: Analyses were conducted using the 2019 and 2022 National Health Interview Survey. Chi-square tests were used to characterize the study sample and logistic regression models were used to predict outcomes in 2019 and 2022.
Results: There was an increase in mild to severe depressive symptoms with differences in magnitude by group in 2022 compared to 2019. Female racial/ethnic minoritized sexual minorities (FMSM) (43.0% in 2019 vs. 53.7% in 2022, p<0.001) displayed the largest percent change in mild to severe depressive symptoms followed by male white sexual minorities (27.5% in 2019 vs. 35.4% in 2022, p<0.001), male racial/ethnic minoritized sexual minorities (31.8% in 2019 vs. 37.1% in 2022, p<0.001). In 2019, female white sexual minorities were more likely to report mild to severe depressive symptoms (OR = 4.41, CI = 3.36-5.78, p<0.000) than male white heterosexuals (MWHS). In 2022, FMSM were more likely to report depressive symptoms (OR = 4.81, CI = 3.42-6.75, p<0.000) than MWHS.
Conclusion: While all subgroups experienced an increase in mild to severe depressive symptoms after the onset of the pandemic, subgroups with multiple marginalized identities are more vulnerable to poorer mental health outcomes. Future analyses will use logistic regression modeling to test for moderation while adjusting for socioeconomic factors and the Hausman-McFadden test to compare the estimated coefficient vectors by year.