Levels of Severity of Depressive Symptoms Among At-Risk Groups in the UK During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  1. Eleonora Iob
  2. Philipp Frank
  3. Andrew Steptoe
  4. Daisy Fancourt

Reviewed by

Read the full article

Listed in

Log in to save this article

Abstract

No abstract available

Article activity feed

  1. Version published to 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.26064
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.06.09.20126300: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementIRB: The study was approved by the UCL Research Ethics Committee [12467/005] and all participants gave informed consent.
    Consent: The study was approved by the UCL Research Ethics Committee [12467/005] and all participants gave informed consent.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    However, our findings need to be interpreted in light of several limitations. First, our sample, though well-stratified across socio-demographic characteristics and weighted to population proportions, was not random, and hence is not nationally representative. It is possible that the study inadvertently attracted individuals experiencing greater psychological distress during the pandemic, or individuals who are more engaged or interested in mental health. Hence, the results shown here are not presented as prevalence figures but are instead used to understand risk factors. Second, the data used in the present analyses are based on self-report measures, bearing the risk of self-report bias. Lastly, causality cannot be assumed since the study is observational and only provides information about the severity of depressive symptoms among vulnerable groups over time. As we lack data on individuals from prior to lockdown being brought in the UK, we are unable to identify if and how patterns of depressive symptoms during lockdown vary relative to individuals’ usual mental health. In conclusion, our analysis suggests that certain vulnerable groups are at particular risk of experiencing elevated depressive symptoms during the current COVID-19 pandemic, including people with pre-existing mental and physical health conditions, experience of physical/psychological abuse, low social support, and those with low SEP. These groups may be experiencing even greater risk than in ordinary circums...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2020.06.09.20126300v1 on medRxiv