Depressive Symptoms in Individuals With Chronic Conditions During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A 2-Year Longitudinal Study

Individuals with chronic conditions are at increased risk of developing depressive symptomatology. While the COVID-19 pandemic increased the risk of mental health problems in the general population, there remains a gap in understanding the association between chronic conditions and depressive symptoms throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from MAP-19: A representative study of the Norwegian population during the COVID-19 pandemic, longitudinal design with nine measurements was implemented to follow 2564 individuals over the 2-year period using Generalised Estimating Equations (M age = 39 years, SD = 13.8; 77% females, 23% males). Individuals with chronic conditions exhibited a differing trajectory of depressive symptomatology compared to those without throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when controlling for shared socioeconomic status and psychosocial risk factors. We found a significant main effect of time β = -0.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-0.235-0.0832] indicating a decrease in depressive symptomatology for controls and a significant interaction effect between group and time β = 0.22, CI [ 0.115-0.331], indicating an increase in depressive symptoms for individuals with chronic conditions (β = -0.16 + β = 0.22 = 0.04). Moreover, individuals with chronic conditions were more likely to seek mental health treatment from a professional (doctor, psychiatrist, clinical psychologist) compared to those without a chronic condition (OR = 1.45, 95% CI [1.20, 1.75]). Individuals with chronic conditions exhibited increasing levels of depressive symptomatology across 2 years of the pandemic, highlighting the need for routine screening for depressive symptomatology in individuals with chronic conditions in primary care.