Mental health in Germany in the first weeks of the Russo-Ukrainian war

BackgroundIn the connected world, although societies are not directly involved in a military conflict, they are exposed to media reports of violence.AimsWe assessed the effects of such exposures on mental health in Germany during the military conflict in Ukraine.MethodWe used the German population-based cohort for digital health research, DigiHero, launching a survey on the eighth day of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Of the 27 509 cohort participants from the general population, 19 444 (70.7%) responded within 17 days. We measured mental health and fear of the impact of war compared with other fears (natural disasters or health-related).ResultsIn a subsample of 4441 participants assessed twice, anxiety in the population (measured by the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 screener) was higher in the first weeks of war than during the strongest COVID-19 restrictions. Anxiety was elevated across the whole age spectrum, and the mean was above the cut-off for mild anxiety. Over 95% of participants expressed various degrees of fear of the impact of war, whereas the percentage for other investigated fears was 0.47-0.82. A one-point difference in the fear of the impact of war was associated with a 2.5 point (95% CI 2.42-2.58) increase in anxiety (11.9% of the maximum anxiety score). For emotional distress, the increase was 0.67 points (0.66-0.68) (16.75% of the maximum score).ConclusionsThe population in Germany reacted to the Russo-Ukrainian war with substantial distress, exceeding reactions during the strongest restrictions in the COVID-19 pandemic. Fear of the impact of war was associated with worse mental health.

Automated summary

During the Russo-Ukrainian war, the German population experienced significant distress and anxiety due to the exposure to media reports of violence. Fear of the impact of war was associated with worse mental health, surpassing the reactions during the strictest COVID-19 restrictions.