Compare the severity of psychological distress among four groups of Iranian society in COVID-19 pandemic

Autor: Farshid Rahimibashar, Mohamad Amin Pourhoseingholi, Malihe Sadat Moayed, Sajad Shojaei, Amir Vahedian-Azimi, Sara Ashtari
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-23828/v1
Popis: Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused serious psychological problems, such as panic attack, anxiety, stress and depression. The main objective of this study was to measure the prevalence and compare the severity of this psychological distress among four groups of Iranian population.Method: In cross-sectional survey, the mental health status of four groups of Iranian society such as community population, patients with COVID-19, medical staff and medical students were investigated by self-report questionnaire Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS). DASS-21 questionnaire and the demographic data sheet were filled in by all participants. All statistical analyses were done using SPSS version 21.0. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: Of the 886 participants in this survey, 554 (62.5%) were male and 332 (37.5%) were female, and the mean ± standard division (SD) age of subjects was 40.91±10.7 years. Among these participants, 241 (27.2%) were selected from community population, 221 (24.9%) were patients with COVID-19, 217 (24.5%) were medical staff and 207 (23.4%) were medical students. The mean score of stress, anxiety and depression in medical students and patients with COVID-19 was significantly higher than medical staff and community population (PP=0.006), and the score of depression in unmarried participants was significantly higher than that in married group (27.5±4.8 vs. 26.7±4.6, P=0.023). In addition, the score of depression in female medical staff (27.08±4.6 vs. 25.33±4.3, P=0.011) and community population (26.6±4.3 vs. 25.3±4.3, P=0.02) was higher than that in male.Conclusion: In COVID-19 pandemic, the severity of anxiety, stress and depression was high among Iranian population. Patients with COVID-19 and medical students who spent time with patients with COVID-19, with low experience than professional medical staff and community population were at high risk for mental illness. Continuous surveillance and monitoring of psychological distress for outbreaks should become routine as part of preparedness efforts worldwide.
Databáze: OpenAIRE