For now, and into the foreseeable future, social distancing is the most effective means of protecting oneself from COVID-19 infection. While this is what all public health officials recommend, we do not fully understand the long-term impact of this policy on our mental health. Researchers have been concerned that certain aspects of life during the pandemic – specifically social isolation, separation from family and friends, and more sedentary lifestyle– could contribute to mental health problems down the road.
In a recent study published by Dr. Karmel Choi and colleagues from the MGH Department of Psychiatry in the American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers identified modifiable factors which could impact risk for depression. Social connection was the strongest protective factor for depression. On the other hand, daytime napping and spending a lot of time watching TV appear to increase one’s risk for depression.
Read More:
Choi KW, Stein MB, Nishimi KM, Ge T, Coleman JRI, Chen CY, Ratanatharathorn A, Zheutlin AB, Dunn EC, 23andMe Research Team, Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Breen G, Koenen KC, Smoller JW. An Exposure-Wide and Mendelian Randomization Approach to Identifying Modifiable Factors for the Prevention of Depression. Am J Psychiatry. 2020 Aug 14.
Confiding in others may protect against depression (Medical News Today)
Social Connections Help Protect from Depression (Psych Central)
Karmel Choi, PhD is a Clinical and Research Fellow in the Psychiatric & Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the interplay of genetic and environmental factors that influence trauma and resilience across the life course, leveraging methods from statistical genetics, data science, and developmental epidemiology.
Jordan Smoller, MD, ScD, is a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. He is the associate chief for research for the Mass General Department of Psychiatry and director of psychiatric genetics. He is director of the Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit in Mass General’s Center for Human Genetics Research. Dr. Smoller also serves as co-director of the Genetics and Genomics Unit of the Mass General Clinical Research Program, is an associate member of the Broad Institute and a senior scientist at the Broad’s Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research.
