Approved Research

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health and wellbeing

Lay summary

Background: COVID-19 was the biggest health-related shock the world had seen for a century. Many questions about the effect of the pandemic in the months and years after are as yet unanswered.

Aim: We want to find out what changed for participants in the UK Biobank during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will look at the whole range of impact, from deaths and long-COVID, to wellbeing, mood and quality of life. We will consider whether a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 illness, the severity of that illness or the number of infections plays a role in the severity of impact experienced by participants. We will go on to look at what baseline factors may influence the impact experienced, and whether biomarkers measured after infection can shed any light on how the virus has longer-term impact.

Scientific rationale: The COVID lockdown was unprecedented, and COVID-19 is still a relatively recent illness, so it is not surprising that we know little about the long-term impacts of either. This becomes even more complicated when one considers that the long-term impact may depend on other illnesses or life circumstances someone was dealing with prior to or during the pandemic. Our project can build on the research already done by others in UK Biobank into what makes an individual at higher risk of catching COVID-19 or having a greater severity of infection. Our work may be built on by others looking at specific aspects or markers of COVID-19's legacy.

Project length: 1 to 3 years

Public health impact: Describing the patterns of longer-term impact from COVID-19 will help with planning and prioritising services. A greater understanding of why people are suffering could lead interventions to reduce suffering and may help prevention in the future.