Anxiety and depression in allergic rhinitis patients during COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China.

Abstract

During COVID-19 pandemic, many allergic rhinitis (AR) patients stopped their treatment including pharmacotherapy and allergen immunotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the anxiety and depression and general effect of COVID-19 pandemic on AR patients' psychological status in Wuhan, China. In October 2019, 222 outpatients suffering from AR in our department and 133 healthy controls were enrolled. All participants were asked to finish the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) questionnaire. The demographic characteristics and the severity of AR symptoms were recorded. In April 2020, the AR patients and healthy controls were re-contacted to finish the questionnaires by telephone or online. The SAS and SDS scores in AR patients and healthy controls and the correlation with other variables were analyzed. For AR patients, the SAS and SDS scores were significantly higher than healthy controls. Meanwhile, the rates of anxiety and depression were 24.8% and 19.4% respectively. The education level and symptoms severity were correlated with SAS and SDS scores. Ninety-eight AR patients and 56 healthy controls finished the questionnaires after COVID-19 pandemic. The AR patients' SAS and SDS scores were lower than before COVID-19 pandemic and were correlated with AR symptom scores. The scores of healthy controls were not different with before COVID-19 pandemic. The occurrence of anxiety and depression is common in AR patients. Severity of symptoms and low education level are the risk factors causing anxiety and depression. COVID-19 pandemic has no significant negative impact on the AR patients' psychological status.