What role does the Covid-19 epidemic play on our anxiety?

A caregiver at a hospital in Moscow, Russia.

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A study by the Danish Happiness Research Institute tried to determine if the epidemic was playing a role in our anxieties.

The study authors found that anxiety appears to be directly related to our perception of the increase in Covid-19 cases.

“With the increase in coronavirus cases, respondents felt more anxious, bored, and less proud, happy and relaxed.

The impact on anxiety was more pronounced ", according to this study entitled" well-being at the age of Covid-19 ".

Young people most affected

Between April and July, researchers interviewed 3,211 people, mostly from Great Britain and the United States, to then correlate their responses with the statistics of cases of coronavirus contamination.

Per million inhabitants, for every 100 new cases, 7,200 people become anxious, according to the findings of the study.

Loneliness linked to containment and social distancing measures had the most dramatic effects on well-being in the first months of the pandemic.

Effects that seem to affect young people more, since 32% of people aged 18 to 24 reported feeling very lonely, while only 16% of those over 64 reported the same feeling.

Unsurprisingly, people without a job or partner are also the ones who feel the most lonely, according to the researchers.

Information consumption can play a role

Furthermore, the most common concern of those questioned remains the economic crisis linked to the health situation - which 62% of them cited.

The fear of losing a loved one to the virus is less frequent (43% of those questioned) but this concern affects the level of happiness of those questioned more.

"More recently, less but growing attention has been paid to the costs of the pandemic in terms of well-being," the institute stresses in its report.

In October, the World Health Organization warned that the pandemic was having a "devastating impact" on mental health globally.

The Danish study also showed that media consumption plays a role in the well-being of everyone: “respondents who learn about Covid-19 through websites and online pages are more likely to "Be concerned that those who rely on other media platforms" such as traditional newspapers, the researchers noted.

The institute called on journalists, politicians and the public to "keep these dynamics in mind when creating, promoting and consuming news media in the months to come."

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