Gender differences and mental distress during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in Japan

• Published in: BMC psychiatry 2024-11, Vol.24 (1), p.776-11, Article 776
• Main Authors: Kanata, Takumi, Takeda, Kazuyoshi, Fujii, Takeshi, Iwata, Ryo, Hiyoshi, Fumikazu, Iijima, Yuka, Nakao, Tomohiro, Murayama, Keitaro, Watanabe, Koichiro, Kikuchi, Toshiaki, Mimura, Masaru, Yoshimi, Asuka, Hishimoto, Akitoyo, Hirata, Hitoshi, Ozaki, Norio, Kito, Shinsuke, Kuga, Hironori, Oba, Mari, Oi, Hideki, Nakagome, Kazuyuki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Aged; Analysis; Anxiety; Anxiety disorders; Care and treatment; Chatbots; Cooperation; Coronaviruses; Counseling; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - psychology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnosis; Epidemics; Evaluation; Female; Gender; Gender differences; Health facilities; Health services; Humans; Infections; Insomnia; Japan - epidemiology; Male; Marital status; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental Health; Mental health care; Mental illness; Middle Aged; Online system; Pandemics; Psychiatric services; Psychological Distress; Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Sex differences; Sex differences (Psychology); Sex Factors; Sleep disorders; Stress; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Suicidal Ideation; Surveys; Women; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1471-244X; 1471-244X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-06200-5

To identify risk factors for mental distress and investigate whether the factors were different between men and women during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), using KOKOROBO data, which is an online platform that aims to facilitate access to mental health services. We used baseline data on KOKOROBO users 13 years of age or older in Japan who accessed it from October 11, 2021, to April 6, 2023, excluding those receiving treatment for mental health problems. Global severity, based on the most severe measure on Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression with baseline characteristics for each gender, and for under 30 and 30 years of age or older in women. We conducted the same analysis of suicidal ideation for each gender. In the 686 men and 1274 women, 117 (17.1%) and 100 (7.8%) had minimal global severity respectively, and the rest suffered from mental distress to some extent. For women, ages under 30 years (adjusted OR (aOR): 0.352, 95%CI: 0.231-0.539, P