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Perlis RH, Simonson MD, Green J, Lin J, Safarpour A, Lunz Trujillo K, Quintana A, Chwe H, Della Volpe J, Ognyanova K, Santillana M, Druckman J, Lazer D, Baum MA. Prevalence of Firearm Ownership Among Individuals With Major Depressive Symptoms. JAMA Netw Open 2022; 5:e223245. [PMID: 35311961 PMCID: PMC8938748 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.3245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Both major depression and firearm ownership are associated with an increased risk for death by suicide in the United States, but the extent of overlap among these major risk factors is not well characterized. OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of current and planned firearm ownership among individuals with depression. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Cross-sectional survey study using data pooled from 2 waves of a 50-state nonprobability internet survey conducted between May and July 7, 2021. Internet survey respondents were 18 years of age or older and were sampled from all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Self-reported firearm ownership; depressive symptoms as measured by the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire. RESULTS Of 24 770 survey respondents (64.6% women and 35.4% men; 5.0% Asian, 10.8% Black, 7.5% Hispanic, and 74.0% White; mean [SD] age 45.8 [17.5]), 6929 (28.0%) reported moderate or greater depressive symptoms; this group had mean (SD) age of 38.18 (15.19) years, 4587 were female (66.2%), and 406 were Asian (5.9%), 725 were Black (10.5%), 652 were Hispanic (6.8%), and 4902 were White (70.7%). Of those with depression, 31.3% reported firearm ownership (n = 2167), of whom 35.9% (n = 777) reported purchasing a firearm within the past year. In regression models, the presence of moderate or greater depressive symptoms was not significantly associated with firearm ownership (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95% CI, 0.98-1.17) but was associated with greater likelihood of a first-time firearm purchase during the COVID-19 pandemic (adjusted OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.56-2.02) and greater likelihood of considering a future firearm purchase (adjusted OR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.23-1.90). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this study, current and planned firearm ownership was common among individuals with major depressive symptoms, suggesting a public health opportunity to address this conjunction of suicide risk factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy H. Perlis
- Department of Psychiatry and Center for Quantitative Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Matthew D. Simonson
- Network Science Institute and Institute for Qualitative Social Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | - Jon Green
- Network Science Institute and Institute for Qualitative Social Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jennifer Lin
- Department of Political Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Alauna Safarpour
- Network Science Institute and Institute for Qualitative Social Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Kristin Lunz Trujillo
- Network Science Institute and Institute for Qualitative Social Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Alexi Quintana
- Network Science Institute and Institute for Qualitative Social Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Hanyu Chwe
- Network Science Institute and Institute for Qualitative Social Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | - Katherine Ognyanova
- School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
| | - Mauricio Santillana
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Department of Epidemiology, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Computational Health Informatics Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - James Druckman
- Department of Political Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - David Lazer
- Network Science Institute and Institute for Qualitative Social Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Matthew A. Baum
- Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Perlis RH, Ognyanova K, Santillana M, Lin J, Druckman J, Lazer D, Green J, Simonson M, Baum MA, Della Volpe J. Association of Major Depressive Symptoms With Endorsement of COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation Among US Adults. JAMA Netw Open 2022; 5:e2145697. [PMID: 35061036 PMCID: PMC8783266 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.45697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccination may contribute substantially to vaccine hesitancy and resistance. OBJECTIVE To determine if depressive symptoms are associated with greater likelihood of believing vaccine-related misinformation. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This survey study analyzed responses from 2 waves of a 50-state nonprobability internet survey conducted between May and July 2021, in which depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9). Survey respondents were aged 18 and older. Population-reweighted multiple logistic regression was used to examine the association between moderate or greater depressive symptoms and endorsement of at least 1 item of vaccine misinformation, adjusted for sociodemographic features. The association between depressive symptoms in May and June, and new support for misinformation in the following wave was also examined. EXPOSURES Depressive symptoms. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The main outcome was endorsing any of 4 common vaccine-related statements of misinformation. RESULTS Among 15 464 survey respondents (9834 [63.6%] women and 5630 [36.4%] men; 722 Asian respondents [4.7%], 1494 Black respondents [9.7%], 1015 Hispanic respondents [6.6%], and 11 863 White respondents [76.7%]; mean [SD] age, 47.9 [17.5] years), 4164 respondents (26.9%) identified moderate or greater depressive symptoms on the PHQ-9, and 2964 respondents (19.2%) endorsed at least 1 vaccine-related statement of misinformation. Presence of depression was associated with increased likelihood of endorsing misinformation (crude odds ratio [OR], 2.33; 95% CI, 2.09-2.61; adjusted OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.91-2.43). Respondents endorsing at least 1 misinformation item were significantly less likely to be vaccinated (crude OR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.36-0.45; adjusted OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.40-0.51) and more likely to report vaccine resistance (crude OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 2.21-2.91; adjusted OR, 2.68; 95% CI, 2.89-3.13). Among 2809 respondents who answered a subsequent survey in July, presence of depression in the first survey was associated with greater likelihood of endorsing more misinformation compared with the prior survey (crude OR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.42-2.75; adjusted OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.14-2.33). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This survey study found that individuals with moderate or greater depressive symptoms were more likely to endorse vaccine-related misinformation, cross-sectionally and at a subsequent survey wave. While this study design cannot address causation, the association between depression and spread and impact of misinformation merits further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy H. Perlis
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | - Mauricio Santillana
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | | | - David Lazer
- Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jon Green
- Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
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Perlis RH, Green J, Simonson M, Ognyanova K, Santillana M, Lin J, Quintana A, Chwe H, Druckman J, Lazer D, Baum MA, Della Volpe J. Association Between Social Media Use and Self-reported Symptoms of Depression in US Adults. JAMA Netw Open 2021; 4:e2136113. [PMID: 34812844 PMCID: PMC8611479 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.36113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Some studies suggest that social media use is associated with risk for depression, particularly among children and young adults. OBJECTIVE To characterize the association between self-reported use of individual social media platforms and worsening of depressive symptoms among adults. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This survey study included data from 13 waves of a nonprobability internet survey conducted approximately monthly between May 2020 and May 2021 among individuals aged 18 years and older in the US. Data were analyzed in July and August 2021. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Logistic regression was applied without reweighting, with a 5 point or greater increase in 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score as outcome and participant sociodemographic features, baseline PHQ-9, and use of each social media platform as independent variables. RESULTS In total, 5395 of 8045 individuals (67.1%) with a PHQ-9 score below 5 on initial survey completed a second PHQ-9. These respondents had a mean (SD) age of 55.8 (15.2) years; 3546 respondents (65.7%) identified as female; 329 respondents (6.1%) were Asian, 570 (10.6%) Black, 256 (4.7%) Hispanic, 4118 (76.3%) White, and 122 (2.3%) American Indian or Alaska Native, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, or other. Among eligible respondents, 482 (8.9%) reported 5 points or greater worsening of PHQ-9 score at second survey. In fully adjusted models for increase in symptoms, the largest adjusted odds ratio (aOR) associated with social media use was observed for Snapchat (aOR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.19-1.96), Facebook (aOR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.10-1.81), and TikTok (aOR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.03-1.87). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among survey respondents who did not report depressive symptoms initially, social media use was associated with greater likelihood of subsequent increase in depressive symptoms after adjustment for sociodemographic features and news sources. These data cannot elucidate the nature of this association, but suggest the need for further study to understand how social media use may factor into depression among adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy H. Perlis
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Jon Green
- Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Matthew Simonson
- Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| | | | - Mauricio Santillana
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | | | - Hanyu Chwe
- Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | - David Lazer
- Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
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Druckman JN, Ognyanova K, Baum MA, Lazer D, Perlis RH, Volpe JD, Santillana M, Chwe H, Quintana A, Simonson M. The role of race, religion, and partisanship in misperceptions about COVID-19. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 2021. [DOI: 10.1177/1368430220985912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Concerns about misperceptions among the public are rampant. Yet, little work explores the correlates of misperceptions in varying contexts – that is, how do factors such as group affiliations, media exposure, and lived experiences correlate with the number of misperceptions people hold? We address these questions by investigating misperceptions about COVID-19, focusing on the role of racial/ethnic, religious, and partisan groups. Using a large survey, we find the number of correct beliefs held by individuals far dwarfs the number of misperceptions. When it comes to misperceptions, we find that minorities, those with high levels of religiosity, and those with strong partisan identities – across parties – hold a substantially greater number of misperceptions than those with contrasting group affiliations. Moreover, we show other variables (e.g., social media usage, number of COVID-19 cases in one’s county) do not have such strong relationships with misperceptions, and the group-level results do not reflect acquiescence to believing any information regardless of its truth value. Our results accentuate the importance of studying group-level misperceptions on other scientific and political issues and developing targeted interventions for these groups.
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Perlis RH, Green J, Santillana M, Lazer D, Ognyanova K, Simonson M, Baum MA, Quintana A, Chwe H, Druckman J, Volpe JD, Lin J. Persistence of symptoms up to 10 months following acute COVID-19 illness. medRxiv 2021:2021.03.07.21253072. [PMID: 33758896 PMCID: PMC7987055 DOI: 10.1101/2021.03.07.21253072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/27/2023]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE COVID-19 symptoms are increasingly recognized to persist among a subset of individual following acute infection, but features associated with this persistence are not well-understood. OBJECTIVE We aimed to identify individual features that predicted persistence of symptoms over at least 2 months at the time of survey completion.Design: Non-probability internet survey. Participants were asked to identify features of acute illness as well as persistence of symptoms at time of study completion. We used logistic regression models to examine association between sociodemographic and clinical features and persistence of symptoms at or beyond 2 months. SETTING Ten waves of a fifty-state survey between June 13, 2020 and January 13, 2021. PARTICIPANTS 6,211 individuals who reported symptomatic COVID-19 illness confirmed by positive test or clinician diagnosis. EXPOSURE symptomatic COVID-19 illness. RESULTS Among 6,211 survey respondents reporting COVID-19 illness, with a mean age of 37.8 (SD 12.2) years and 45.1% female, 73.9% white, 10.0% Black, 9.9% Hispanic, and 3.1% Asian, a total of 4946 (79.6%) had recovered within less than 2 months, while 491 (7.9%) experienced symptoms for 2 months or more. Of the full cohort, 3.4% were symptomatic for 4 months or more and 2.2% for 6 months or more. In univariate analyses, individuals with persistent symptoms on average reported greater initial severity. In logistic regression models, older age was associated with greater risk of persistence (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01-1.19 for each decade beyond 40); otherwise, no significant associations with persistence were identified for gender, race/ethnicity, or income. Presence of headache was significantly associated with greater likelihood of persistence (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.11-1.86), while fever was associated with diminished likelihood of persistence (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.53-0.83). CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE A subset of individuals experience persistent symptoms from 2 to more than 10 months after acute COVID-19 illness, particularly those who recall headache and absence of fever. In light of this prevalence, strategies for predicting and managing such sequelae are needed. TRIAL REGISTRATION NA. KEY POINTS Question: Which individuals are at greatest risk for post-acute sequelae of COVID-19?Findings: In this non-probability internet survey, among 6,211 individuals with symptomatic COVID-19 illness, 7.9% experienced persistence of symptoms lasting 2 months or longer. Older age, but not other sociodemographic features, was associated with risk for persistence, as was headache.Meaning: Identifying individuals at greater risk for symptomatic persistence may facilitate development of targeted interventions.
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Abstract
This survey study investigates where acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with the probability of subsequent depressive symptoms among US adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy H. Perlis
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Associate Editor, JAMA Network Open
| | | | | | | | - David Lazer
- Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
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