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. 2022 Feb 1;298(Pt A):396-399.
doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.10.134. Epub 2021 Nov 11.

Mental health outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in the United States: A national cross-sectional study

Shanquan Chen  1 , Athina R Aruldass  2 , Rudolf N Cardinal  3
Affiliations

Mental health outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in the United States: A national cross-sectional study

Shanquan Chen et al. J Affect Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Worsening of anxiety and depressive symptoms have been widely described during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be hypothesized that vaccination could link to reduced symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. However, to date, no study has assessed this. This study aims to examine anxiety and depressive symptoms after vaccination in US adults, meanwhile test sociodemographic disparities in these outcomes.

Methods: Data from the January 6-June 7 2021, cross-sectional Household Pulse Survey were analyzed. Using survey-weighted logistic regression, we assessed the relationships between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and anxiety and/or depressive symptoms, both on overall and sociodemographic subgroups. We controlled for a variety of potential socioeconomic and demographic confounding factors.

Results: Of the 453,167 participants studied, 52.2% of the participants had received the COVID-19 vaccine, and 26.5% and 20.3% of the participants reported anxiety and depression, respectively. Compared to those not vaccinated, the vaccinated participants had a 13% lower odds of anxiety (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.85, 95%CI 0.83-0.90) and 17% lower odds of depression (AOR = 0.83, 95%CI 0.79-0.85). Disparities on the above associations were identified in age, marital status, education level, ethnic/race, and income level, but not on gender.

Limitations: The causal inference was not able to be investigated due to the cross-sectional study design.

Conclusion: Being vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 was associated with lower odds of anxiety and/or depressive symptoms. While those more middle-aged or more affluent, were more likely to show these negative associations, the contrary was observed in ethnic minorities and those with lower educational attainment. More strategic and demography-sensitive public health communications could perhaps temper these issues.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; SARS-CoV-2 vaccination; United States.

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Conflict of interest statement

None reported.

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