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Background: In view of experts' warnings about the potential negative mental health consequences of the sudden nationwide lockdowns implemented in many countries to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, we sought to study the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after traumatic events related to this unprecedented lockdown in the French general population.Methods: This longitudinal study among adults (aged =18) consisted of two surveys: the first during the last days of the lockdown and the second a month later. We estimated PTSD incidence with the PCL-5 and ran multiple Poisson regression models to identify factors associated with PTSD.Results: Among the 1736 participants, 30.1% reported at least one traumatic event. PTSD incidence was 17.5% (95% confidence interval CI = 15.7-19.3). It was higher in participants who reported multiple traumatic events, who had high COVID-19-related media use, who had general anxiety disorder (GAD-7) during the lockdown, and who had GAD, depression (PHQ-9), or sleep problems 1 month later. In addition, 43.1% of people with PTSD reported suicidal thoughts.Conclusions: These results should help clinicians to target people who are at high risk of developing PTSD after a pandemic-related lockdown and could benefit from preventive measures. Collaboration between the media and mental health professionals could be envisioned to inform the population about care resources. Follow-up recommendations should also be disseminated to general practitioners to facilitate PTSD screening and ensure that they are aware of the appropriate management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the effectiveness of a coronavirus disease lockdown in curbing coronavirus disease spread depends on public support, acquiring real-time information about the way populations reacted to the lockdown is crucial. In France, such public support remained fragile among low-income persons, probably because the lockdown exacerbated preexisting social inequalities and conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To our best knowledge, no study in France has comprehensively investigated the prehospital history of patients admitted for severe cases of COVID-19. 'Patients' voice is an excellent means to capture data on primary care pathways. We aimed to identify clusters of COVID-19 hospitalised patients with similar prehospital symptom sequences, and to test whether these clusters were associated with a higher risk of poor clinical outcomes. Design: Cross-sectional online survey using life-event calendars. Setting: All patients hospitalised for COVID-19 between September 2020 and May 2021 in the Infectious Disease Departments in Nice and in Marseilles in France. Participants: 312 patients responded to the survey. Main outcome measures: From the day of symptom onset to the day of hospitalisation, we defined a symptom sequence as the time-ordered vector of the successive symptom grades (grade 1, grade 2, grade 3). State sequence analysis with optimal matching was used to identify clusters of patients with similar symptom sequences. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to test whether these clusters were associated with admission to intensive care unit (ICU) and COVID-19 sequelae after hospitalisation. Results: Three clusters of symptom sequences were identified among 312 complete prehospital pathways. A specific group of patients (29%) experienced extended symptoms of severe COVID-19, persisting for an average duration of 7.5 days before hospitalisation. This group had a significantly higher probability of being admitted to ICU (adjusted OR 2.01). They were less likely to know a loved one who was a healthcare worker, and more likely to have a lower level of education. Similarly, this group of patients, who were more likely to have previously visited the emergency room without exhibiting severe symptoms at that time, may have been inclined to postpone reassessment when their health worsened. Their relatives played a decisive role in their hospitalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: With France one of the European countries most strongly affected by COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, French authorities imposed a nationwide lockdown for 8 weeks (March 17–May 10). This study explored the perception of the adult population about the need for—and access to—psychological support from health care professionals (HCP) in response to concerns about the psychological needs during lockdown. Material and method: This online cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of the adult general population of mainland France (N = 2,003) took place during the last four days of the French lockdown (May 7–10, 2020). Results: One in eight respondents (12.2%) perceived a need for psychological support from an HCP during the lockdown; most had symptoms of depression and/or anxiety of at least moderate intensity. Only a third (29.8%, 3.6% of the entire sample) actually obtained this support. Factors associated with this perceived need included: age under 35, economic difficulties due to lockdown, pre-lockdown use of psychological support, infection with COVID-19, serious worries about becoming infected, and heavy media use to obtain information about the disease. Among those who perceived a need for psychological support, the elderly were the most likely not to consult an HCP. People aged 35–64, those with high income, and those seriously worried about developing COVID-19 were the most likely to forgo seeking access to care because of their fear of infection by the coronavirus-2019. Conclusion: The perceived need for psychological support from an HCP and access to it appeared to be strongly associated with COVID-19 exposure factor. More research about this association is needed to improve the health authorities' understanding of the population's psychological needs in this situation and to enhance HCPs' abilities to meet them. In particular, further research of its specific impact on youth is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reaching the last pockets of unvaccinated people is challenging, and has led to the consideration of mandatory vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Our aim was to assess attitudes toward mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in France before the announcement of—and factors associated with opposition to—this type of policy. Between the 10th and 23rd May 2021, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey among a representative sample of the French population aged 18 and over, and a specific sample of the French senior population aged over 65. Among 3056 respondents, 1314 (43.0%) were in favour of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination, 1281 (41.9%) were opposed to such a policy, and 461 (15.1%) were undecided. Among opponents to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for the general population, 385 (30.05%) were in favour of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare workers (HCWs). In multivariate analysis, the age groups 18–24 and 25–34 years were significantly more opposed than the reference group (>75 years old) with respective adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 4.67 (1.73–12.61) and 3.74 (1.57–8.93). Having no intention of getting COVID-19 vaccination was strongly associated with opposition to mandatory vaccination (aOR 10.67, 95%CI 6.41–17.76). In comparison with partisans of the centre, partisans of the far left and green parties were more likely to be opposed to mandatory COVID-19 vaccine, with respective aORs (95%CI) of 1.89 (1.06–3.38) and 2.08 (1.14–3.81). Attitudes toward mandatory COVID-19 vaccination are split in the French general population, and the debate might become politicized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the accompanying lockdown measures have had a major impact on societies around the world, leading to sleep problems for a large part of the population. In order to assess the sustainability of sleeping troubles related to the sanitary crisis, it was crucial to measure its prevalence after the end of the Covid-19 confinement.Methods: As part of an epidemiological survey on Covid and Confinement (COCONEL), we enquired on sleep disorders using two items in 4 repetitive cross-sectional surveys. The first took place during the first week of the French confinement (March 31 to April 2; N = 1005 participants). The second took place in the middle of this period (April 15-17; N = 1005). The two last surveys were held at the end of the confinement (May 7-10; N = 2003) and one month after the end (June 10-12; N = 1736). Using a random constant, the mixed model took into account the longitudinal character of the last two waves (intra-individual correlations for individuals surveyed in waves 3 and 4).Results: The prevalence of sleep problems significantly decreased during the last weeks of the confinement, and this trend was confirmed one month after the end of confinement. One quarter of the population reported that their sleep was better one month after the end of the confinement. Sleep improvement was reported more often by women and people aged less than 65. Such improvement was less frequent among those who were still highly exposed to the pandemic's media coverage after the end of the confinement.Conclusion: The possibility of recovering a good sleep largely depends on the type of sleep disorder. The decrease in sleep problems occurred mainly among people with mild sleep problems during the confinement. Further research is needed to assess the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and its confinement period on sleep quality in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid‐19 pandemic has disrupted the habits of billions of people around the world. Lockdown at home is mandatory, forcing many families, each member with their own sleep–wake habits, to spend 24 hr a day together, continuously. Sleep is crucial for maintaining immune systems and contributes deeply to physical and psychological health. To assess sleep problems and use of sleeping pills, we conducted a cross‐sectional study of a representative sample of the general population in France. The self‐reported sleep complaint items, which covered the previous 8 days, have been used in the 2017 French Health Barometer Survey, a cross‐sectional survey on various public health issues. After 2 weeks of confinement, 74% of the participants (1,005 subjects) reported trouble sleeping compared with a prevalence rate of 49% in the last general population survey. Women reported more sleeping problems than men, with greater frequency or severity: 31% vs. 16%. Unusually, young people (aged 18–34 years) reported sleep problems slightly more frequently than elderly people (79% vs. 72% among those aged 35 or older), with 60% of the younger group reporting that these problems increased with confinement (vs. 51% of their elders). Finally, 16% of participants reported they had taken sleeping pills during the last 12 months, and 41% of them reported using these drugs since the lockdown started. These results suggest that the COVID crisis is associated with severe sleep disorders among the French population, especially young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Covid-19 spreads across the world, governments turn a hopeful eye towards research and development of a vaccine against this new disease. But it is one thing to make a vaccine available, and it is quite another to convince the public to take the shot, as the precedent of the 2009 H1N1 influenza illustrated. In this paper, we present the results of four online surveys conducted in April 2020 in representative samples of the French population 18 years of age and over (N = 5018). These surveys were conducted during a period when the French population was on lockdown and the daily number of deaths attributed to the virus reached its peak. We found that if a vaccine against the new coronavirus became available, almost a quarter of respondents would not use it. We also found that attitudes to this vaccine were correlated significantly with political partisanship and engagement with the political system. Attitudes towards this future vaccine did not follow the traditional mapping of political attitudes along a Left-Right axis. The rift seems to be between people who feel close to governing parties (Centre, Left and Right) on the one hand, and, on the other, people who feel close to Far-Left and Far-Right parties as well as people who do not feel close to any party. We draw on the French sociological literature on ordinary attitudes to politics to discuss our results as well as the cultural pathways via which political beliefs can affect perceptions of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Almost a quarter of the French population would not get vaccinated against COVID-19. • Attitudes are correlated with political partisanship and engagement with politics. • Attitudes do not follow the traditional separation between Left-wing and Right-wing. • Refusal is associated with proximity radical parties and to abstention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]