Findings of the Scottish Health Survey 2020 were recently published by Scotland’s Chief Statistician. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first instance of interviews being conducted over the telephone. Adults aged ≥16 years across Scotland were interviewed in August and September 2020.
The survey findings highlighted a significant impact of the lockdown on mental health. Twenty-two per cent of adults recorded a 12-item General Health Questionnaire score of ≥4, suggestive of a probable psychiatric disorder. Eleven per cent of adults reported two or more symptoms of depression and 13 per cent reported two or more symptoms of anxiety. Five per cent of adults reported feeling lonely ‘often’ or ‘all of the time’ and another 15 per cent reported feeling lonely ‘some of the time’.
Respondents reported significant changes in lifestyle behaviours since before the first lockdown in March 2020:
- Thirty-nine per cent of adults reported weight gain since before the lockdown, and 18 per cent reported weight reduction over this period.
- Women were more likely to report weight gain than men (43% vs 34%).
- Twenty-four per cent of adults reported an increase in the number of days per week when alcohol was consumed between the start of the lockdown and the fieldwork period, whereas 17 per cent reported a decrease.
- Twelve per cent reported an increase in their alcohol intake on a typical day between the start of the lockdown and the fieldwork period, whereas 18 per cent reported a decrease.
- Thirty-six per cent of adult smokers reported an increase in smoking since before the lockdown.
- Fifty-five per cent reported no change in their smoking habits.
The complete survey results can be found here.
