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. 2024 Jan 22;7(2):212-218.
doi: 10.1093/jcag/gwad060. eCollection 2024 Apr.

The impact of source and consumption of news on mental distress among inflammatory bowel disease patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Seth R Shaffer  1   2 , Casandra Dolovich  1   2 , Renée El-Gabalawy  2   3 , Lesley A Graff  2   3 , Harminder Singh  1   2   4 , Gia L Jackson  2 , Sydney Chochinov  2 , Souradet Shaw  2   4 , Charles N Bernstein  1   2
Affiliations

The impact of source and consumption of news on mental distress among inflammatory bowel disease patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Seth R Shaffer et al. J Can Assoc Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Background: We sought to understand the trends in media use, and how consumption and source affected mental health of persons with inflammatory bowel disease during the early parts of the pandemic. Dissemination of news during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was integral to educating the public but also could be harmful if constantly consumed, leading to worsening anxiety.

Methods: We performed a survey study in autumn 2020 during the second wave of COVID-19 in Manitoba. The survey included questions on consumption of COVID-19 news, along with validated measures of perceived stress, generalized anxiety, health anxiety, and depression. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis to assess trusted sources of news as a predictor of clinically significant mental health symptoms.

Results: Of the 2940 participants in the registry, 1384 (47.1%) persons responded. The most trusted sources of news were television (64.2%), internet (46.1%), newspaper (27.6%), friends/family (21.7%), social media (16.9%), and radio (16.6%). Those who trusted social media had higher odds of depression (aOR 1.52, 95%CI 1.04-2.22), and perceived stress (aOR 2.56, 95%CI 1.09-2.21). Persons who reported extreme difficulty limiting their time-consuming news about COVID-19 and who spent more than 1 h daily consuming information on COVID-19 both had increased odds of any clinically significant mental health symptoms.

Conclusions: It is unknown if consumption of COVID-19 news led to heightened mental health symptoms or if increasing anxieties and concerns led to consuming more news. Further research is needed to assess whether these elevated mental health symptoms led to worse disease outcomes.

Keywords: COVID-19; IBD; mental health; survey.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Shaffer has served on advisory boards or consultant to Takeda Canada, Janssen Canada, Abbvie Canada, and Pfizer Canada. Dr. Bernstein has consulted to or served on advisory boards for Abbvie Canada, Amgen Canada, Bristol Myers Squibb Canada, JAMP Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Canada, Pfizer Canada, Sandoz Canada, Takeda, and has received unrestricted educational grants from Abbvie Canada, Janssen Canada, Pfizer Canada, Bristol Myers Squibb Canada, and Takeda Canada. He has been on the speaker’s bureau of Abbvie Canada, Janssen Canada, Pfizer Canada, and Takeda Canada. He has received research grants from Abbvie Canada, Amgen Canada, Pfizer Canada, and Sandoz Canada and contract grants from Janssen. Dr. Singh has been on advisory boards or consultant to Amgen Canada, Roche Canada, Sandoz Canada, Takeda Canada, Pendopharm, BMS, and Guardant Health, Inc.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Most trusted source of news for persons with and without generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), depression, health anxiety, and perceived stress.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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