COVID-19'S IMPACT ON QUALITY OF LIFE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DAEGU CITIZENS WITH AND WITHOUT SUICIDAL IDEATION
Authors: Lee *Jonghun , An Yun Woo 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted a profound influence on the quality of life (QoL) of individuals worldwide. Daegu, a major city in South Korea, faced significant public health challenges during this period.

Aims & Objectives
Aims of this study were to explore the changes in QoL among Daegu citizens over three pivotal years: 2018 (pre-pandemic phase), 2020 (pandemic phase), and 2022 (post-peak phase), focusing on differences between those with and without suicidal ideation.

Method
Daegu citizens were enrolled annually in 2018, 2020, and 2022 (N=709, 1158, 898, respectively), considering regional, gender, and age proportions. Suicidal ideation was determined by a yes/no question regarding suicidal thoughts during the past year. 2018, 2020, and 2022 were defined as the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-peak phase of COVID-19 respectively. QoL was assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life: Brief Version, which consists of physical health, psychological, social relationships, and environment domains. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted to examine the main effect of suicidal ideation group, phases of COVID-19 and interaction effects between the suicidal ideation and phases, adjusting for age, education, marital status, and income.

Results
In 2018, 2020, and 2022, 59 (8.3%), 245 (21.2%), and 71 (7.9%) individuals reported suicidal ideation, respectively. MANCOVA revealed a significant main effect of suicidal ideation on QoL [F(4,2752)=69.99, p&lt;0.001]. Post-hoc analysis showed significant effects of suicidal ideation on all domains of QoL. There was also a significant main effect of phases of COVID-19 on QoL [F(8,5504)=4.62, p&lt;0.001]. Post-hoc analysis indicated significant effects of phases on QoL for all domains except the environment domain. More importantly, interaction effect of suicidal ideation with phases of COVID-19 was found to be at trend level [F(8,5504)=1.89, p=0.057]. Post-hoc analysis revealed a significant interaction effect only in the physical health domain [F(2,2755)=3.53, p=0.030], which means that while in all three phases, suicidal ideation group reported a lower QoL in the physical health domain than non-suicidal ideation group, the difference in QoL between the these two groups was less pronounced in pandemic phase compared to the other phases of COVID-19.

Discussion & Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic notably affected the QoL of Daegu citizens. Individuals with suicidal ideation consistently reported a lower QoL across the COVID-19 pandemic. However, compared to pre-pandemic and post-peak phase, the disparity in physical health domain of QoL between those with and without suicidal ideation was less distinct in pandemic phase. These findings suggest that global events like the COVID-19 pandemic can blur the traditional QoL differences according to the suicidal ideation, especially during their pandemic phase, highlighting the broad impact of such crises on the general population's well-being.

References
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