A multidimensional index that measures the health status of individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic has been developed. The COVID-19 Health Status Scale (CHSS), a combination of previously studied and newly created health status scales, assesses the physical, mental, and social well-being of adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study aimed to examine the differences between men and women in self-reported past major depressive disorder diagnosis during the COVID-19 lockdown in the United States using the CHSS self administered questionnaire. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling performed online through the SurveyMonkey Audience. The self-administered CHSS questionnaire has been pilot tested in an adult population during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the US. The study sample size included 173 participants aged 18 years and older. Results revealed that almost one-third of the study participants (31.2%) reported being diagnosed with past major depressive disorder, whereas 68.8% reported no past major depressive disorder diagnosis. The results of the estimated coefficients of the logistic regression analysis test showed that men were less likely to report major depression during the COVID-19 lockdown (Exp (B) = 0.45 for men;p <0.05) than women. Although the results showed that almost two thirds of the participants reported no major depression diagnosis during the COVID-19 lockdown, the logistic regression analysis confirmed that the chances of men reporting major depressive disorder diagnosis were lesser than that of women and this difference was statistically significant.
Major depression among men and women in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic (preprint)