Disruptive life events and health:longitudinal evidence from a large cohort in the Netherlands

Events that happen in individuals’ lives can have far-reaching consequences in many different life domains, for instance on one’s health and health behaviours. Some events, such as finding a partner or having a child, are usually perceived as “positive” by those who experience them, and can have a positive effect on health. Yet, other “disruptive” or stressful events -for instance the death of a partner or losing your job- may lead to poorer health, and/or increase unhealthy behaviours, such as alcohol abuse, to cope with stress. Moreover, this may be true for individual events, such as unemployment, which affect specific individuals (and those around them), but also for collective events that affect millions of people, like the Covid-19 pandemic did. We used a large sample of individuals from the northern provinces of the Netherlands to study the impact of unemployment and the Covid-19 pandemic on health. Results show that individuals who were unemployed for more than a few months, or several times, had higher risk of abusing alcohol (binge drinking). Regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, depression and anxiety symptoms clearly increased in the population during the preventive lockdowns, and the negative effect accumulated over time. In fact, those who experienced several disruptive events (for instance, having precarious working conditions as well as having previous mental health issues), suffered the most negative impact in terms of mental and physical health

The impact of the COVID lockdown on alcohol consumption in the Netherlands. The role of living arrangements and social isolation

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have a strong impact on health and health behaviours, such as alcohol consumption. Although there is some evidence of an overall decline in alcohol consumption during the lockdown, studies also show an increase in risky drinking patterns, e.g. solitary drinking, and differences between subgroups of individuals, e.g. depending on their living arrangement. Yet most studies rely on cross-sectional designs with retrospective questions, and small samples. METHODS: A longitudinal study was conducted using 13 waves of the COVID-Questionnaire within the Lifelines cohort from the northern Netherlands (n = 63,194). The outcome was alcohol consumption (glasses per week) between April 2020 and July 2021. Linear fixed-effects models were fitted to analyse trends in alcohol consumption, and these were compared with pre-COVID drinking levels. Moreover, the role of living arrangement and feelings of social isolation as potential moderators was tested. RESULTS: Alcohol consumption during the pandemic was lower than in previous years, and the seasonal pattern differed from the pre-COVID one, with levels being lower when lockdown measures were stricter. Moreover, the seasonal pattern differed by living arrangement: those living alone saw a relative increase in drinking throughout tight lockdown periods, whereas those living with children showed the strongest increase during the summer. Social isolation showed a weaker moderation effect. CONCLUSIONS: Overall alcohol levels were down in the pandemic, and in particular during strict lockdowns. Those living on their own and those who felt more isolated reacted more strongly to the lockdown, the longer it lasted

Changes in anxiety and depression symptoms during the Covid-19 lockdown in the Netherlands. The moderating role of pre-existing mental health, employment situation and alcohol consumption

Purpose: Evidence suggests an increase of depression and anxiety symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic but most studies relied on cross-sectional designs and/or small samples, and they often overlooked subgroup effects in the impact of the lockdown. We investigated the effect of the pandemic on depression and anxiety symptoms, and whether it differed by employment situation and alcohol consumption. Methods: This longitudinal study used 23 waves of the Covid-Questionnaire (April 2020—July 2021), within the Lifelines cohort from the Netherlands (n = 76,254). Depression and anxiety symptoms were combined in a “mental health score”. Linear fixed-effects models were fitted to analyse trends in mental health throughout the observation period. The moderating role of pre-existing mental health, employment situation, and alcohol consumption was tested. Results: Depression and anxiety symptoms fluctuated considerably during the observation period, with clear peaks in winter 2021, during the strictest lockdown period. Moreover, temporal patterns differed by employment situation and alcohol consumption patterns, suggesting that various subgroups reacted to the pandemic and the lockdown in different ways. Conclusion: Lockdowns increased depression and anxiety symptoms in the Netherlands. The effect was particularly strong for unemployed individuals, those with risky alcohol consumption patterns and those with pre-existing mental health disorders.</p