Social determinants of major depressive disorder. Exploring the interplay of age, loneliness, and the COVID-19 pandemic
[eng] INTRODUCTION: Depression is a highly prevalent condition, recognized as one of the leading causes of years lived with disability worldwide. Its global prevalence continues to rise, with major depressive disorder (MDD) emerging as the most common form. MDD is significantly influenced by social...
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| Tipo de documento: | tese |
| Estado: | Versão publicada |
| Data de publicação: | 2024 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universidad de Barcelona |
| Repositório: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/215034 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/2445/215034 http://hdl.handle.net/10803/692080 |
| Access Level: | Acceso aberto |
| Palavra-chave: | Pandèmia de COVID-19, 2020- Depressió psíquica Solitud Treball social Condicions socials COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Mental depression Solitude Social work Social conditions |
| Resumo: | [eng] INTRODUCTION: Depression is a highly prevalent condition, recognized as one of the leading causes of years lived with disability worldwide. Its global prevalence continues to rise, with major depressive disorder (MDD) emerging as the most common form. MDD is significantly influenced by social determinants, particularly those related to interpersonal interactions. Social support and loneliness, representing objective and subjective dimensions of interpersonal relationships respectively, have been associated with depression, affecting its onset and severity. The COVID-19 pandemic and its containment measures reshaped social interactions and amplified socioeconomic inequalities. It led to heightened feelings of loneliness, altered social support networks, and exacerbated mental disorders symptoms, particularly depressive symptoms and MDD. Despite considerable attention from the scientific community, significant gaps persist in our understanding of the interplay between social determinants and depression. For instance, the way in which loneliness interacts with objective aspects of social relationships affecting the risk and disease course of MDD remains poorly understood. Similarly, the causes explaining the age differences in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression, as well as the effect of other social determinants, warrant deeper investigation. Based on these gaps, we have formulated the different hypotheses and objectives of the present thesis. HYPOTHESES: 1. Individuals with poor social support and experiencing loneliness are more likely to present a worse course of MDD. 2. Loneliness acts as a mediating factor in the association between social support and MDD. 3. The risk of MDD increased during the pandemic, particularly among younger adults. 4. The different risks of MDD by age group might be explained by disparities on the impact of the pandemic on social relationships and socioeconomic conditions. 5. Younger adults with pre-pandemic mental disorders (PPMD) were the most affected by loneliness during pandemic. 6. The impact of loneliness on depression during the pandemic was higher among younger adults with PPMD. 7. While many cases of loneliness during the pandemic were transient, a portion of the population will continue to experience persistent levels of loneliness and depressive symptoms. 8. Individuals who have shown greater vulnerability to loneliness during the pandemic (young adults, with PPMD, and a low socioeconomic status) are at higher risk of experiencing chronic courses of loneliness after the pandemic. |
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