Wir überwinden Grenzen

A COVID-19 survey of NAKO participants in May shows that the novel virus and its countermeasures have had an impact on the general and mental health of the population in Germany.

What impact do infections with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the protective measures have on people in Germany? These questions are answered by a special survey of the NAKO Health Study (NAKO) among its approximately 205,000 participants. 159,562 individuals took part in the special survey during the lockdown in spring 2020. The 113,928 responses received in the first four weeks of May form the focus of an initial analysis of the data. These were published in the German Medical Journal on November 25, 2020. Participants from Freiburg and 15 other German study regions were asked whether they had undergone a COVID-19 test and what symptoms they had experienced. In addition, their subjectively perceived state of health was determined. In particular, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and stress were surveyed.

By May 2020, 4.6 percent of respondents had been tested for COVID-19, but only 344 (0.3 percent) of these were coronavirus-positive. "Symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders increased among participants under the age of 60, especially among young women," says Prof. Dr. Dr. Karin Michels, Head of the NAKO site in Freiburg and Director of the Institute for Prevention and Cancer Epidemiology at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. The proportion of those with moderate to severe depressive symptoms rose from 6.4 to 8.8 percent. "Self-perceived stress increased in all age groups and both genders, especially in the 30 to 49 age group, but also among older people," Michels continued. The results clearly indicate that the first wave of the pandemic and the protective measures taken have had a negative impact on mental health.

However, there is not only negative news to report from the first wave. 32% of study participants rated their own health as better during the first lockdown compared to the initial survey around five years ago. Prof. Dr. Annette Peters, Chairman of the Board of Directors of NAKO and Director of the Institute of Epidemiology at Helmholtz Zentrum München, emphasizes the special significance of the study: "The NAKO Health Study is ideally suited to investigate whether the changed living and working conditions during the pandemic will not only have an impact on health in the short term, but will also influence the development of common diseases in the long term."

Background to the NAKO Health Study

The NAKO Health Study is a joint project of 27 institutions - universities, Helmholtz Centers, Leibniz Institutes and other institutions - which have joined forces in NAKO e.V. to conduct the largest population-based, prospective long-term study in Germany to date. Since 2014, the NAKO Health Study has been examining men and women between the ages of 20 and 69 randomly selected from the population registers in 18 study centers across Germany and asking them about their living conditions. The aim is to investigate chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, rheumatism, infections and depression in more detail in order to improve the prevention, early detection and treatment of these widespread diseases in the population. The multicenter project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the participating federal states and the Helmholtz Association. 205,000 people have taken part in the NAKO study, 30,000 of them in the additional one-hour whole-body MRI examination. More than 10,000 participants have been examined at the Freiburg site to date. Further information can be found at www.nako.de.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Dr. Karin Michels
Director
Institute for Prevention and Cancer Epidemiology
Medical Center - University of Freiburg
0761 270-77360
tumorepidemiologie@uniklinik-freiburg.de