Trust in sources of information on COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic's first wave and incident persistent symptoms in the population-based CONSTANCES cohort: A prospective study.

Joane Matta, Emmanuel Wiernik, Olivier Robineau, Gianluca Severi, Mathilde Touvier, Clément Gouraud, Charles Ouazana-Vedrines, Victor Pitron, Brigitte Ranque, Nicolas Hoertel, Omer Van den Bergh, Michael Witthöft, Sofiane Kab, Marcel Goldberg, Marie Zins, Cédric Lemogne

Journal: Journal of psychosomatic research 2023;169():111326

PMID: 37037155

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between trust in different sources of information on COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic and the burden of incident persistent symptoms.

METHODS

This prospective study used data from the SAPRIS and SAPRIS-Sérologie surveys nested in the French CONSTANCES population-based cohort. Trust in different information sources was measured between April 6 and May 4, 2020. Persistent symptoms that emerged afterwards were self-reported between December 2020 and January 2021. The associated psychological burden was measured with the somatic symptom disorder B criteria scale (SSD-12). The analyses were adjusted for gender, age, education, income, self-rated health, SARS-CoV-2 serology tests, and self-reported COVID-19.

RESULTS

Among 20,985 participants [mean age (SD), 49.0 years (12.7); 50.2% women], those with higher trust in government/journalists at baseline had fewer incident persistent symptoms at follow-up (estimate (SE) for one IQR increase: -0.21 (0.03), p < 0.001). Participants with higher trust in government/journalists and medical doctors/scientists were less likely to have ≥1 symptom (odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for one IQR increase: 0.87 (0.82-0.91) and 0.91 (0.85-0.98), respectively). Among 3372 participants (16.1%) who reported ≥1 symptom, higher trust in government/journalists and medical doctors/scientists predicted lower SSD-12 scores (-0.39 (0.17), p = 0.02 and - 0.85 (0.24), p < 0.001, respectively), whereas higher trust in social media predicted higher scores in those with lower trust in government/journalists (0.90 (0.34), p = 0.008). These associations did not depend upon surrogate markers of infection with SARS-CoV-2.

CONCLUSIONS

Trust in information sources on COVID-19 may be associated with incident persistent symptoms and associated psychological burden, regardless of infection with SARS-CoV-2.

Address: Université Paris Cité, « Population-based Cohorts Unit », INSERM, Paris Saclay University, UVSQ, UMS 011, Paris, France.; Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Institut Pierre-Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Paris, France; EA2694, Univ Lille, Centre Hospitalier de Tourcoing, France.; Université Paris-Saclay, UVSQ, INSERM, CESP U1018, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France; Department of Statistics, Computer Science, Applications "G. Parenti", University of Florence, Florence, Italy.; Sorbonne Paris Nord University, Inserm U1153, Inrae U1125, Cnam, Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Epidemiology and Statistics Research Center - Université Paris Cité (CRESS), Bobigny, France.; Service de Psychiatrie de l'adulte, AP-HP, Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, F-75004 Paris, France.; Service de Psychiatrie de l'adulte, AP-HP, Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, F-75004 Paris, France; Université Paris Cité, INSERM U1266, Institut de Psychiatrie et Neuroscience de Paris, F-75014 Paris, France.; Université Paris Cité, VIFASOM (Vigilance Fatigue Sommeil et Santé Publique), Paris, France; Centre du Sommeil et de la Vigilance-Pathologie professionnelle, APHP, Hôtel-Dieu, F-75004 Paris, France.; Université Paris Cité, Service de Médecine interne, AP-HP, Hôpital européen Georges-Pompidou, Paris, France.; Université Paris Cité, INSERM U1266, Institut de Psychiatrie et Neuroscience de Paris, F-75014 Paris, France; Service de Psychiatrie et Addictologie, AP-HP, Hôpital Corentin-Celton, DMU Psychiatrie et Addictologie, F-92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.; Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology & Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.; Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Experimental Psychopathology, Johannes Gutenberg-University, 55122 Mainz, Germany.; Service de Psychiatrie de l'adulte, AP-HP, Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, F-75004 Paris, France; Université Paris Cité, INSERM U1266, Institut de Psychiatrie et Neuroscience de Paris, F-75014 Paris, France. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2023.111326

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MeSH Terms: Humans, Female, Male, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Prospective Studies, Information Sources, Pandemics, Trust