Stress and depression intensified in the United States along with the rate of the coronavirus infection among its citizens, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances.

The study of more than 6,500 people found that several factors may have worsened people’s stress.

According to researchers, the biggest risk for symptoms of depression was a pre-existing mental health diagnosis prior the pandemic.

Concerns about contracting the disease outweighed concerns about pandemic-related disruptions in daily life, researchers said in a study published on Friday.

Employment also had a big impact, with those who lost their jobs suffering most.

The data also suggested that individuals who continued working during this early phase of the pandemic were less depressed than individuals who were not working, even though they were at greater risk for contracting the virus.

Those “remaining employed as an ‘essential’ worker may have given new meaning to respondents’ work that reduced their risk for depression.”

Researchers said another factor in pandemic-related stress is how often participants were exposed to conflicting information from the news and social media.