Abstract
The prevalence of depression and anxiety has been shown to be higher in the urban population compared with the rural population. The present study investigated the prevalence of depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms and their associated factors in a random sample drawn from several urban communities in Malaysia. This study also determined the association between the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms. We recruited 326 participants, who were administered a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire; the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to assess the presence or absence of depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms; and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQoL-BREF) to assess their QoL. The following prevalence values were obtained among the participants: depression symptoms, 23.9%; anxiety symptoms, 41.7%; and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms, 19.9%. Those assessed after the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic showed increased odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR = 2.99, 95% CI = 1.41–6.35, p = 0.006) and depressive with comorbid anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR = 3.19, 95% CI = 1.37–7.45, p = 0.005), while the presence of comorbid stress increased the odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR = 16.00, 95% CI = 7.84–32.63, p < 0.001), anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR = 19.72, 95% CI = 9.75–39.89, p < 0.001), and depressive with comorbid anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR = 40.44, 95% CI = 15.90–102.87, p < 0.001). Higher psychological QoL reduced the odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.69–0.99, p = 0.032) and depressive with comorbid anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.68–0.98, p = 0.041), whereas higher physical health QoL (adjusted OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.75–0.97, p = 0.021) and social relationship QoL (adjusted OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.55–0.90, p = 0.009) reduced the odds of anxiety symptoms. Based on our findings, we recommended several measures to curb psychological complications among the urban population, particularly as the battle to contain COVID-19 is ongoing.
Highlights
In Malaysia, a developing country in Southeast Asia that is moving forward rapidly in becoming a developed country, 76.04% of the population was living in urban areas in 2018, representing a threefold increase in urbanization compared with 1960 (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2018)
To fill this research gap, this study investigated the following issues: (1) the prevalence of depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms and (2) the association between various demographic factors, quality of life (QoL), and the psychological complications mentioned above among participants sampled from several urban communities in Malaysia
Our findings showed a relatively high prevalence of depression compared with the results of a few studies on the Malaysian urban population, which reported the prevalence of depression in the range of 10.30%–13.98% (Cheah et al, 2020; Kader Maideen et al, 2014; Tan & Yadav, 2012)
Summary
One of the major concerns associated with urbanization is the negative effect that it imposes on the mental health status of the urban population. Various factors, such as low socioeconomic status, low social capital, higher rates of pollution, and physical threats (e.g., violence and higher crime rates), may increase the risk of developing psychological complications among the urban population compared with the rural population (Gruebner et al, 2017). A national mental health survey of 9656 Colombian respondents in the community showed that the prevalence of depression with comorbid anxiety was 9.6% in urban respondents compared with only 6.9% in rural respondents (de Vries et al, 2018). Cheah, Azahadi, Phang, and Abd Manaf (2020) extracted data from a survey conducted on a nationally representative sample of Malaysian adults and revealed that the demographic variables associated with depression and generalized anxiety disorder included younger age, female gender, Indian ethnic group, lower level of education, and being unmarried
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
