Effect of gender and clinical-financial vulnerability on mental distress due to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on people's mental health. This study examines whether gender influences the mental distress in people from at-risk populations (clinically high risk and financially vulnerable). A cross-sectional survey was administered between the 23rd and 28th of April 2020 to 15,691 individuals from 32,596 households in the UK. Our findings confirmed that individuals who are clinically high risk or financially vulnerable or a combination of both experience significantly higher levels of mental distress. Additionally, we also found that females experienced higher levels of mental distress than males across various categories.