AUTHOR=Bracone Francesca , Gialluisi Alessandro , Costanzo Simona , Di Castelnuovo Augusto , Persichillo Mariarosaria , Olivieri Marco , Cerletti Chiara , Donati Maria Benedetta , de Gaetano Giovanni , Iacoviello Licia , Bonaccio Marialaura 

TITLE=Retrospective Recall of Psychological Distress Experienced During the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy: Results From the ALT RISCOVID-19 Survey

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=67

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604345

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2022.1604345

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> To estimate psychological distress experienced during the Italian lockdown (March-May 2020) by assessing, in the transition period of the pandemic (June-September 2020), participants’ recalling of their psychological state.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Cross-sectional analysis on 1,880 adults (mean age 48.9 ± 14.5 years) from the web-based ALT RISCOVID-19 survey. Participants were asked to retrospectively recall their psychological state during lockdown concerning symptoms of depression (Patients’ Health Questionnaire), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder), stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and post-traumatic stress (Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health).</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Experienced symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress was recalled by 15.8, 15.3 and 13.1% of respondents, respectively. These psychometric scales tended to decrease during the 4-month period of assessment (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05), while perceived stress levels did not (<italic>p</italic> = 0.13). Men and older individuals reported lower symptoms of depression (<italic>β</italic> = −0.42 and <italic>β</italic> = −0.42; <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.0001, respectively), anxiety (<italic>β</italic> = −0.41 and <italic>β</italic> = −0.45; <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.0001, respectively), stress (<italic>β</italic> = −0.36 and <italic>β</italic> = 0.50; <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.0001, respectively) and post-traumatic stress (<italic>β</italic> = −0.42; <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.0001, men vs women).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Recalled psychological distress experienced during COVID-19 lockdown tended to decrease during the transition period of the pandemic, except for stress. Women and younger people were at higher risk to recall psychological distress.</p>