Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://dx.doi.org/10.25673/103486
Title: | Mental health in Germany in the first weeks of the Russo-Ukrainian war |
Author(s): | Gottschick, Cornelia Diexer, Sophie Massag, Janka Klee, Bianca Broda, Anja Purschke, Oliver Binder, Mascha ![]() Sedding, Daniel ![]() Frese, Thomas ![]() Girndt, Matthias ![]() Höll, Jessica ![]() Michl, Patrick ![]() Gekle, Michael ![]() Mikolajczyk, Rafael ![]() |
Issue Date: | 2023 |
Type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Abstract: | Background: In the connected world, although societies are not directly involved in a military conflict, they are exposed to media reports of violence. Aims: We assessed the effects of such exposures on mental health in Germany during the military conflict in Ukraine. Method: We used the German population-based cohort for digital health research, DigiHero, launching a survey on the eighth day of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Of the 27 509 cohort participants from the general population, 19 444 (70.7%) responded within 17 days. We measured mental health and fear of the impact of war compared with other fears (natural disasters or health-related). Results: In a subsample of 4441 participants assessed twice, anxiety in the population (measured by the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 screener) was higher in the first weeks of war than during the strongest COVID-19 restrictions. Anxiety was elevated across the whole age spectrum, and the mean was above the cut-off for mild anxiety. Over 95% of participants expressed various degrees of fear of the impact of war, whereas the percentage for other investigated fears was 0.47–0.82. A one-point difference in the fear of the impact of war was associated with a 2.5 point (95% CI 2.42–2.58) increase in anxiety (11.9% of the maximum anxiety score). For emotional distress, the increase was 0.67 points (0.66–0.68) (16.75% of the maximum score). Conclusions: The population in Germany reacted to the Russo-Ukrainian war with substantial distress, exceeding reactions during the strongest restrictions in the COVID-19 pandemic. Fear of the impact of war was associated with worse mental health. |
URI: | https://opendata.uni-halle.de//handle/1981185920/105438 http://dx.doi.org/10.25673/103486 |
Open Access: | ![]() |
License: | ![]() |
Journal Title: | BJPsych Open |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Publisher Place: | Cambridge |
Volume: | 9 |
Issue: | 3 |
Original Publication: | 10.1192/bjo.2023.21 |
Page Start: | 1 |
Page End: | 7 |
Appears in Collections: | Open Access Publikationen der MLU |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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mental-health-in-germany-in-the-first-weeks-of-the-russo-ukrainian-war.pdf | 725.94 kB | Adobe PDF | ![]() View/Open |