Coronavirus will have severe impact on mental health in UK, experts warn

Fear of contracting virus, coupled with separation of families and job insecurity, is causing widespread anxiety

An inability to access outside space, and loneliness, were among the big issues raised by the survey
An inability to access outside space, and loneliness, were among the big issues raised by the survey Credit: Matt Dunham/AP

Coronavirus will have a profound social, psychological and biological impact on Britons long after the lockdown ends, experts warned as they called for urgent research into the mental health effects of the pandemic.

The fear of contracting the virus, coupled with the separation of families and job insecurity, is causing widespread anxiety and could lead to depression and self-harm, researchers said.

In a new paper published in The Lancet Psychiatry, a team of 24 experts from institutions including Cambridge University, King's College and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, call for greater attention to be paid to how the crisis is affecting the nation's mental health.

A survey of 2,198 people, commissioned ahead of the article, found many are suffering a "general existential anxiety" brought on by the overwhelming uncertainty over when the pandemic, or the lockdown, will end.

Many are anxious about finances, obtaining food and medicine and not being able to access outside space. Loneliness was raised repeatedly, as were concerns about feeling trapped and being unable to plan for the future.

Speaking at a virtual briefing organised by the Academy of Medical Science and the mental health charity MQ, Professor Ed Bullmore, the head of the department of psychiatry at Cambridge, said there could also be physical brain changes caused by contracting the virus which may harm mental health.

"The pandemic is really having a major social and psychological impact on the whole nation. Increasing unemployment, separating families and various other changes in the way that we live are risk factors for anxiety, depression and self-harm," he said.

"It's also possible there will be an impact from the virus that is linked to the brain and body's response to infection. 

"In China, there have been reports coming out to indicate that a proportion of patients – particularly the more severely ill – are experiencing symptoms that imply the virus has had an effect on the function of the brain, and we think that is fundamentally important.

"So we see social, psychological and biological reasons to think that Covid-19 could have a profound effect on mental health."

Previous outbreaks of infectious disease have been known to have an impact on mental health. The Sars epidemic was associated with a 30 per cent increase in suicide in the over-65s, while 29 per cent of healthcare workers experienced "probable emotional distress".

There are also fears that many people could turn to excessive drinking, online gambling or problem shopping, which could also impact their mental and physical health.

In the survey, many mentally ill people said they were worried about their psychiatric condition worsening during the lockdown because services had been cancelled.

Some described being consumed by fears about family members contracting Covid-19, while others were anxious about children and teenagers missing school and exams. Others were struggling to exercise because they can no longer play team sports or visit the gym. 

Researchers said the impact to mental health would be felt beyond the end of the pandemic and the lockdown, and called for real-time monitoring of mental health to be rolled out urgently.

Professor Matthew Hotopf, vice-dean of research at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience said: "I think a lot of the longer-term impacts will be related to the economic impact of this. Is this a sudden, very significant shock, which then recovers quickly or are we in for a much longer period of economic slump?"

Rory O'Connor, professor of health psychology at the University of Glasgow, added: "We don't know when it will end, but I think we're pretty confident to say that it will last beyond the last day of measures because the economic, structural changes in society... are what will continue to be dangerous."

Overall, just seven respondents (0.3 per cent) suggested that they either had no concerns or were psychologically benefiting from aspects of the lockdown such as the lack of pressure to socialise.

The University of Bedfordshire has warned that the outbreak may stall or reverse the decade-long fall in the UK's alcohol consumption, leading to an increase in drinking.

Dr Sarah Wadd, director of the Substance Misuse and Ageing Research Team, said: "Since reaching a peak in the mid-2000s, UK alcohol consumption has been falling steadily, especially among young people. Only time will tell if coronavirus will reverse the progress made, but alcohol consumption is very likely to rise during the Covid-19 outbreak."