Abstract
BACKGROUND: Many studies have aimed to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. However, less research has focused on the changes in symptom clusters of comorbid disorders. To understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic it is necessary to evaluate the relationships between symptoms of comorbid disorders. This was the first study to compare comorbidity networks of depression, anxiety and eating disorder (ED) symptoms to investigate the overall connectivity of symptoms before and during the onset of the pandemic. METHODS: Self-report questionnaire data from 1361 adolescent psychiatric inpatients (M(age) = 15.32, SD = 1.47) were used for this study. A network analysis was conducted including 52 questionnaire items of depression, anxiety and eating disorder to identify and compare core symptoms and bridge symptoms in a pre and a peri pandemic sample. RESULTS: A significantly higher network density and overall connectivity were found in the peri pandemic sample. Links between feelings of failure in the depression cluster and worry what other people think in the anxiety cluster as well as between difficulties getting rid of bad/ silly thoughts in the anxiety cluster and suicidal thoughts in the depression cluster emerged as the strongest pathways in both networks. Body image disturbance emerged as the strongest bridge symptom for eating disorders in both networks. There were no significant differences in the most prominent core and bridge symptoms between the networks, indicating a high stability of core symptoms and pathways across circumstances. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest a multidimensional relationship between symptoms of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. The persistence of symptom pathways after the onset of the pandemic implies that these pathways may be responsible for the occurrence of comorbidity and should be primary targets of psychotherapy for affected patients. Addressing core and bridge symptoms in the therapy of comorbid disorders should be a priority and may be more effective than conventional treatment strategies.