Trajectories of mental health among UK university staff and postgraduate students during the pandemic
Published in: Occupational & Environmental Medicine, August 2022 Citation: Carr E*, Oetzmann C*, Davis K, Bergin-Cartwright G, Dorrington S, Lavelle G, Leightley D, Polling C, Stevelink SAM, Wickersham A, Vitiello V, Razavi R, Hotopf M. Occup Environ Med. 2022;79(8):514–520. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2021-108097 PMID: 35307649 *Joint first authors
This repository accompanies the paper:
"Trajectories of mental health among UK university staff and postgraduate students during the pandemic"
We examined how symptoms of anxiety and depression changed over time in a large occupational cohort, using fortnightly data collected from April 2020 to April 2021.
Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted working and social lives globally. While many studies document mental health deterioration during this period, they often use small samples or infrequent assessments. This study uses fortnightly assessments to describe trajectories of mental health and individual-level predictors.
Methods Data were drawn from the King's College London Coronavirus Health and Experiences of Colleagues at King's (KCL CHECK) study. A total of 2,241 staff and postgraduate students completed fortnightly online questionnaires. Mental health was assessed using the GAD-7 and PHQ-9.
Results Average symptom levels were generally low, peaking in April 2020 and declining during summer. However, subgroup analysis revealed four distinct mental health trajectories:
- Persistent high severity (6–7%)
- Varying symptoms, opposing national cases (4–8%)
- Varying symptoms, consistent with national cases (6–11%)
- Persistent low severity (74–84%)
Higher severity trajectories were associated with younger age, female gender, caring responsibilities, and shielding status.
Conclusions Individual trajectories varied substantially, with some experiencing consistently high or fluctuating symptoms. Aggregate trends may mask substantial heterogeneity, highlighting the need for tailored mental health support.
COVID-19 • Mental health • Occupational health • GAD-7 • PHQ-9 • Trajectory analysis