COVID-19 vaccination boosts mental wellbeing during pandemic

Individuals who have received one or two doses of the COVID-19 vaccinations experience improved mental wellbeing during the pandemic, reports a recent Japan study.

Researchers conducted a longitudinal analysis of 17,089 individuals (mean age 52.5 years, 8,692 men) in whom mental health was assessed using the Kesler Psychological Distress Scale. At baseline, majority (n=12,730) of participants had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 1,417 had been given only one dose. The remaining 2,942 had not been vaccinated.

According to the Kessler scale, 39 percent (n=6,583) participants had psychological distress at baseline, while the remaining 61 percent (n=10,506) did not. At follow-up, 33 percent had psychological distress. Stratifying by vaccination status, 44 percent, 41 percent, and 30 percent of participants with no, one-dose, and two-dose vaccines had psychological distress at follow-up.

Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that having had one COVID-19 vaccine dose increased the likelihood of improved mental health by 31 percent (odds ratio [OR], 1.31, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.05–1.63). Receiving two doses boosted this likelihood by 35 percent (OR, 1.35, 95 percent CI, 1.15–1.57).

Conversely, the odds of deteriorating mental health from baseline to follow-up was significantly lower among participants who had received one (OR, 0.66, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.51–0.85) and two (OR, 0.70, 0.59–0.83) vaccine doses than those who had not been vaccinated.

“The bonus advantage of vaccination might provide evidence for the authorities to promote vaccination against COVID-19 as well as emerging infectious diseases in the future,” the researchers said.