People suffering from depression are more likely to believe misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, highlighting a need for enhanced public health interventions targeting these groups.
Among more than 15,000 U.S. adults surveyed, those with moderate or greater symptoms of depression were more likely to approve of at least 1 of 4 false statements about vaccines. And those who said the comments were true were half as likely to be vaccinated, researchers reported Friday in JAMA Network Open.
Importantly, the findings do not establish causation between depression and believing misinformation, the study authors noted. But given that nearly 25% of adults in the U.S. report experiencing symptoms of depression during the pandemic, there remains a real need to address this rising health crisis.
“It’s clear the pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the mental health of Americans, especially young people,” Katherine Ognyanova, an associate professor of communication at Rutgers’ School of Communication and Information, said in a statement. “Now more than ever, we must watch for depressive symptoms among our communities, but platforms and the media also have a major role to play to avoid undesirable health outcomes.”
The survey included 15,464 adults with an average age of 47 who responded to internet surveys between May and July 2021. Participants were asked to rate vaccine-related misinformation as “accurate,” “inaccurate” or “not sure,” prior to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approving any vaccine.
Each survey presented four questions: “The COVID-19 vaccines will alter people’s DNA”; “the COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips that could track people”; “the COVID-19 vaccines contain the lung tissue of aborted fetuses” and “the COVID-19 vaccines can cause infertility, making it more difficult to get pregnant.”
The results showed that 29.3% of people with moderate or more depressive symptoms (little interest in normal tasks, trouble sleeping, poor appetite, feeling bad about yourself, etc.) supported those statements, compared to 15% of respondents without self-reported depression.
Ognyanova did not assess the reasoning for their findings but suggested a negativity bias may push people with depression to focus more heavily on information that expresses negativity.
You can read the full study here.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.