Psychological distress among people with probable COVID-19 infection: analysis of the UK Household Longitudinal Study

Studies exploring the longer-term effects of experiencing COVID-19 infection on mental health are lacking. We explored the relationship between reporting probable COVID-19 symptoms in April 2020 and psychological distress (measured using the General Health Questionnaire) one, two, three, five and seven months later. Data were taken from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative household panel survey of UK adults. Elevated levels of psychological distress were found up to seven months after probable COVID-19, compared to participants with no likely infection. Associations were stronger among younger age groups and men. Further research into the psychological sequalae of COVID-19 is urgently needed. ### Competing Interest Statement SVK is a member of the UK Government Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE) subgroup on ethnicity and COVID-19. SVK is co-chair of the Scottish Government Expert Reference Group on ethnicity and COVID-19. MB is director of the Understanding Society Study. All authors write in an independent capacity and the views expressed do not necessarily represent any government or funding organisation. ### Funding Statement We received the following funding: The National Core Studies Health & Wellbeing initiative was funded by the Medical Research Council (MC\_PC\_20030). AHL and SVK acknowledge funding from the Medical Research Council (MC\_UU\_00022/2) and Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (SPHSU13). CLN acknowledges funding from a Medical Research Council Fellowship (MR/R024774/1) and SVK acknowledges funding from a NRS Senior Clinical Fellowship (SCAF/15/02). MB acknowledges funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ES/N00812X/1). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The University of Essex Ethics Committee approved all data collection for the Understanding Society main survey and COVID waves, which were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. All survey participants provided fully informed consent. No additional ethical approval was necessary for this secondary data analysis. All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes Understanding Society deidentified survey participant data are available through the UK Data Service (; ). Researchers who would like to use Understanding Society need to register with the UK Data Service () before being allowed to download datasets.