Anxiety and depression prevalence and determinants in health sciences students during Covid-19 pandemic: a quantitative study in Nampula, Mozambique

Abstract

Introduction: anxiety and depression are the most prevalent mental disorders in the world, close to 50% of the international disease burden due to psychiatric disorders and substance use. Research with university students show psychiatric disorders ‘rates around 15 to 25%. Student’ environment interferes in higher education and life conditions bias training context, often adverse and a mental health stressor. Population’ depressive disorders prevalence is around 7%, but these disorders’ incidence increased due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, impairing individual’s functional and psychosocial lives, and increasing the risk of major depressive disorder if not recognized and treated. Objective: estimate anxiety and depression prevalence rates in Faculty of Health Sciences’ students, at Lúrio University in Nampula, Mozambique, and associated determinants, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: descriptive, quantitative cross-sectional study, applying a digital survey about psychologic stress determinant factors, based on Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The Faculty of Health Sciences students’ random sample in Nampula answered the survey during August to October 2020, in a declared Public Calamity period due to Covid-19 pandemic. Results were analysed with Statistic Package for Social Science with a confidence interval of 95% and an error margin of 5%, using Q2 test to determine statistically significant associations. Results: 276 students answered the survey, 50% of each gender, aged from 17 to 51 years, 60% coming from Nampula province, showing high rates of anxiety, depression and co morbidity, respectively 42.3, 34.3 and 25.9%, with a statistically significant association with bad relationships with friends, not enough sleep, trauma, lost and family antecedents. Conclusion: we confirmed the high prevalence of mental disorders in the Mozambican population, aggravated by governmental restrictive measures due to SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, implementing distance digital learning. Faculty of Health Sciences’ students have high anxiety and depression prevalence rates, mental disorders limiting academic performance and decreasing life quality. These results are important to allow the University to launch preventative activities and to promote therapeutic options, to grant the teaching – learning system success.