Abstract
BackgroundThis study was conducted to check anxiety level and mental stress in the 200 confirmed hepatitis C patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) score index was used to measure the anxiety level of HCV-positive patients. BAI score index of different demographic factors such as gender, age, occupation, and education of all the sampled population was calculated.ResultsThe highest BAI score was recorded in people in the age group of 25–45 years (54.5%). Respondents from public sector employees, own businesses, and postgraduates were highly anxious. A significant difference in BAI score was also recorded between male and female respondents as 33.77% of females were at a severe level of anxiety compared to 17.07% of males. Furthermore, quarantined hepatitis C patients had a significantly higher BAI score (39.5) as compared to non-quarantined patients (27.12), and respondents with HCV infection also had a high BAI score of 37.25 compared to healthy individuals (4.1). Most of the respondents were willing to adopt protective measures against COVID-19.ConclusionThis study concluded that people with infectious diseases like hepatitis C had high anxiety levels and mental stress in the COVID-19 pandemic and needed psychological aids for better mental health to handle pandemic conditions.
Highlights
This study was conducted to check anxiety level and mental stress in the 200 confirmed hepatitis C patients during the COVID-19 pandemic
It was widely assumed that COVID-19 outbreaks cause anxiety and mental stress in the general population
We investigated whether this outbreak affects patients with compromised immunity, i.e., Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients
Summary
This study was conducted to check anxiety level and mental stress in the 200 confirmed hepatitis C patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) score index was used to measure the anxiety level of HCV-positive patients. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the causative agent of hepatitis C and 3% of the world’s population is infected by this virus. COVID-19 is a pandemic viral infection, caused by a coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). 151,916,040 people have been infected and 3,190, 948 deaths have been reported globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic [5]. This pandemic increases anxiety, depression, and restlessness in immunesuppressed individuals such as HCV-infected people
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have