Self-perception of mental health, COVID-19 and associated sociodemographic-contextual factors in Latin America

• Autor(a) principal: Roa, Pablo
• Data de Publicação: 2024
• Outros Autores: Rosas, Guillermo, Isabel Niño Cruz, Gloria, Mauricio Moreno López, Sergio, Mejía Grueso, Juliana, Aguirre-Loaiza, Haney, Alarcón Aguilar, Javiera, Siqueira Reis, Rodrigo, Akira Ferreira Hino, Adriano, López, Fernando, Salvo, Deborah, Ramírez Varela, Andrea
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Cadernos de Saúde Pública
• Texto Completo: https://cadernos.ensp.fiocruz.br/ojs/index.php/csp/article/view/8547
• topic: Saúde Mental; Política; Determinantes Sociais da Saúde; SARS-CoV-2; Salud Mental; Política; Determinantes Sociales de la Salud; SARS-CoV-2; Mental Health; Politics; Social Determinants of Health; SARS-CoV-2

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of alterations in self-perceived mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and their associated factors in four Latin American countries. This is a cross-sectional study based on data collected from adults in 2021 through the Collaborative Response COVID-19 Survey by the MacDonnell Academy at Washington University in St. Louis (United States). The sample was composed of 8,125 individuals from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Chile. A generalized linear model for a binary outcome variable with a logistic link and fixed country effects was used. There were 2,336 (28.75%) individuals who considered having suffered alterations in self-perceived mental health. Unemployed individuals (OR = 1.40; 95%CI: 1.24-1.58), those with bad/regular quality of life (OR = 5.03; 95%CI: 4.01-6.31), and those with high socioeconomic status (OR = 1.66; 95%CI: 1.41-1.96) had a higher risk of self-perceived mental health alterations than those with full-time employment, excellent quality, and low socioeconomic status. According to the fixed-effects model, Brazilians living in the country during the pandemic, who disagreed with their government’s decisions (OR = 2.05; 95%CI: 1.74-2.42) and lacked trust in their government (OR = 2.10; 95%CI: 1.74-2.42) had a higher risk of having self-perceived mental health alterations. Nearly 30% of respondents indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic altered their self-perceived mental health. This outcome was associated with political, sociodemographic, and health risk factors. These findings should help policymakers develop post-pandemic community interventions