Background: The current COVID-19 pandemic is associated with extensive individual and societal challenges, including challenges to both physical and mental health. To date, the development of mental health problems such as depressive symptoms accompanying population-based federal distancing measures is largely unknown, and opportunities for rapid, effective, and valid monitoring are currently a relevant matter of investigation. Objective: In this study, we aim to investigate, first, the temporal progression of depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and, second, the consistency of the results from tweets and survey-based self-reports of depressive symptoms within the same time period. Methods: Based on a cross-sectional population survey of 9011 German adolescents and adults (n=4659, 51.7% female; age groups from 15 to 50 years and older) and a sample of 88,900 tweets (n=74,587, 83.9% female; age groups from 10 to 50 years and older), we investigated five depressive symptoms (eg, depressed mood and energy loss) using items from the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) before, during, and after relaxation of the first German social contact ban from January to July 2020. Results: On average, feelings of worthlessness were the least frequently reported symptom (survey: n=1011, 13.9%; Twitter: n=5103, 5.7%) and fatigue or loss of energy was the most frequently reported depressive symptom (survey: n=4472, 51.6%; Twitter: n=31,005, 34.9%) among both the survey and Twitter respondents. Young adult women and people living in federal districts with high COVID-19 infection rates were at an increased risk for depressive symptoms. The comparison of the survey and Twitter data before and after the first contact ban showed that German adolescents and adults had a significant decrease in feelings of fatigue and energy loss over time. The temporal progression of depressive symptoms showed high correspondence between both data sources (ρ=0.76-0.93; P<.001), except for diminished interest and depressed mood, which showed a steady increase even after the relaxation of the contact ban among the Twitter respondents but not among the survey respondents. Conclusions: Overall, the results indicate relatively small differences in depressive symptoms associated with social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the need to differentiate between positive (eg, energy level) and negative (eg, depressed mood) associations and variations over time. The results also underscore previous suggestions of Twitter data’s potential to help identify hot spots of declining and improving public mental health and thereby help provide early intervention measures, especially for young and middle-aged adults. Further efforts are needed to investigate the long-term consequences of recurring lockdown phases and to address the limitations of social media data such as Twitter data to establish real-time public mental surveillance approaches.

中文翻译：

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德国 COVID-19 大流行期间抑郁症状的迹象：全国调查和 Twitter 数据的比较


背景：当前的 COVID-19 大流行与广泛的个人和社会挑战相关，包括对身心健康的挑战。迄今为止，伴随基于人口的联邦疏远措施而出现的抑郁症状等心理健康问题的发展情况在很大程度上尚不清楚，快速、有效和有效监测的机会目前是一个相关的调查问题。目的：在本研究中，我们的目的首先是调查 COVID-19 大流行期间抑郁症状的时间进展，其次是同一时间内推文和基于调查的抑郁症状自我报告结果的一致性时期。方法：基于对 9011 名德国青少年和成年人（n=4659，51.7% 为女性；年龄组为 15 至 50 岁及以上）的横断面人口调查和 88,900 条推文样本（n=74,587，83.9% 为女性；年龄组从 10 岁到 50 岁及以上），我们使用患者健康问卷 (PHQ-8) 中的项目在第一次德国社交接触放松之前、期间和之后调查了五种抑郁症状（例如，情绪低落和精力丧失） 2020 年 1 月至 7 月实施禁令。结果：平均而言，无价值感是最不常报告的症状（调查：n=1011，13.9%；Twitter：n=5103，5.7%），疲劳或精力丧失是最常见的症状受访者和 Twitter 受访者均报告有抑郁症状（调查：n=4472，51.6%；Twitter：n=31,005，34.9%）。年轻成年女性和生活在 COVID-19 感染率高的联邦地区的人出现抑郁症状的风险增加。 首次接触禁令前后的调查与推特数据的比较显示，随着时间的推移，德国青少年和成年人的疲劳感和精力损失显着减少。抑郁症状的时间进展在两个数据源之间显示出高度的一致性（ ρ = 0.76-0.93； P <.001），除了兴趣减弱和情绪抑郁之外，即使在 Twitter 之间放松接触禁令之后，抑郁症状的时间进展也显示出稳定的增加受访者，但不在调查受访者中。结论：总体而言，结果表明，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，与社交距离措施相关的抑郁症状差异相对较小，并强调需要区分积极（例如，精力水平）和消极（例如，抑郁情绪）关联以及变化。时间。研究结果还强调了之前的建议，即推特数据有潜力帮助识别和改善公众心理健康下降的热点，从而有助于提供早期干预措施，特别是针对年轻人和中年人。需要进一步努力调查反复出现的封锁阶段的长期后果，并解决 Twitter 数据等社交媒体数据的局限性，以建立实时公共心理监控方法。