TY - JOUR
T1 - Burden of mental distress in the United States is associated with delayed medical visits and missed prescription refills during the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Jalan, Madhu
AU - Riehm, Kira
AU - Nekkanti, Manali
AU - Agarwal, Smisha
AU - Gibson, Dustin G.
AU - Labrique, Alain
AU - Thrul, Johannes
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to poor health due to a decrease in healthcare utilization and those with mental health problems may be impacted. For this analysis, data came from a cross-sectional, nationally representative December 2020 survey. Logistic regression analyses examined associations between (1) mental distress and delayed medical visits, (2) mental distress and missed prescription refills, controlling for sociodemographics, pre-existing chronic conditions, and access to health insurance. We found that, compared to those that exhibited normal levels of mental distress, those with mild (aOR = 2.83, 95% CI = 2.47–3.24), moderate (aOR = 3.43, 95% CI = 2.95–3.99), and severe (aOR = 4.96, 95% CI = 4.21–5.84) mental distress showed greater odds of delaying medical visits. Similarly, compared to those that exhibited normal levels of mental distress, those with mild (aOR =3.93, 95% CI = 3.04–5.09), moderate (aOR =6.52, 95% CI = 5.07–8.43), and severe (aOR =8.69, 95% CI = 6.71–11.32) mental distress showed greater odds of missing prescription refills. Our study shows that individuals who showed signs of mental distress had increased odds of delayed medical visits and missed prescription refills, compared to those that showed normal levels of mental distress.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to poor health due to a decrease in healthcare utilization and those with mental health problems may be impacted. For this analysis, data came from a cross-sectional, nationally representative December 2020 survey. Logistic regression analyses examined associations between (1) mental distress and delayed medical visits, (2) mental distress and missed prescription refills, controlling for sociodemographics, pre-existing chronic conditions, and access to health insurance. We found that, compared to those that exhibited normal levels of mental distress, those with mild (aOR = 2.83, 95% CI = 2.47–3.24), moderate (aOR = 3.43, 95% CI = 2.95–3.99), and severe (aOR = 4.96, 95% CI = 4.21–5.84) mental distress showed greater odds of delaying medical visits. Similarly, compared to those that exhibited normal levels of mental distress, those with mild (aOR =3.93, 95% CI = 3.04–5.09), moderate (aOR =6.52, 95% CI = 5.07–8.43), and severe (aOR =8.69, 95% CI = 6.71–11.32) mental distress showed greater odds of missing prescription refills. Our study shows that individuals who showed signs of mental distress had increased odds of delayed medical visits and missed prescription refills, compared to those that showed normal levels of mental distress.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Delayed medical visits
KW - Mental distress
KW - Missed prescription refills
KW - National Pandemic Pulse
KW - PHQ-4
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85136041899&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85136041899&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107195
DO - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107195
M3 - Article
C2 - 35964776
AN - SCOPUS:85136041899
SN - 0091-7435
VL - 163
JO - Preventive Medicine
JF - Preventive Medicine
M1 - 107195
ER -