Changes in Depressive Symptoms, Perceived Stress, and Food Security Among Study Participants With Metabolic Syndrome During a COVID-19–Mandated Research Pause

Abstract

Introduction We explored how depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and food security of people with metabolic syndrome (MetS) changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods An online survey was administered from October 2019 through March 2020, to participants in a 2-year lifestyle intervention trial to reverse MetS; the survey was repeated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Outcomes were a change in depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and food security as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8), Perceived Stress Scale, and US Department of Agriculture’s 10-item Adult Food Security Module. We analyzed changes in outcomes with measures of association, paired t tests, repeated measures, and independent t tests. Results Survey respondents (N = 132) were mostly female (67%), White (70%), and middle-aged, with a median income of $86,000. Frequency of depressive symptoms increased from baseline to followup and the increase was related to lower mean (SD) baseline vitality (44.4 [20.7] vs 60.3 [18.9]; P =.01) and mental health decline (71.0 [14.3] vs 82.0 [10.4]; P =.002). Mean (SD) perceived stress was significantly higher at baseline than follow-up (18.5 [6.4] vs 14.9 [7.2]; P