Financial Difficulties Correlate With Mental Health Among Bangladeshi Residents Amid COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings From a Cross-Sectional Survey.

Abu Bakkar Siddique,M Ziaul Amin,Zayed Bin Zakir Shawon,Tausif Hasan Khan,Kamrun Nahar Koly,M Imran Al Amin,Md Saiful Islam,Sudipto Deb Nath,Shahina Pardhan

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.755357

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a global threat which has challenged mental resilience and impacted the psychological well-being of people across all age groups globally. The present study aimed to investigate how financial difficulties during the pandemic correlate with mental health among residents of Bangladesh.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 4,020 residents from different parts of Bangladesh between July and September 2020, during a period of elevated risk of COVID-19 infection. A self-reported online questionnaire comprising socio-demographic, financial difficulties and psychometric measures (to assess depression, anxiety and stress) was used to gather information from participants. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the factors associated with mental health consequences.Results: The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in the sample were 71.1%, 62.3%, and 56.7%, respectively. Levels of depression, anxiety, and stress were significantly higher among participants who reported female sex, being unmarried, smaller families, higher monthly family income, poor self-perceived health status, living near people who had been infected by COVID-19, probability of decreased income, food scarcity (both during the pandemic and in the future) and the possibility of unemployment. However, due to the nature of the cross-sectional study performed with a convenience sampling method, the causal relationship between variables cannot be justified.Conclusions: After several months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, more than half of the respondents rated their mental health concerns as moderate to severe. The findings highlight the contributing factors of poor mental health which warrant the creation of interventions that address the economic, financial and mental health impacts of the pandemic.

Highlights

The world is undergoing an uncertain coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which has cost millions of lives, impacted the economy, and had severe mental health consequences
The majority were educated up to university level (78.9%), unmarried (87.8%), resided in urban areas (76.9%), had up to 4 members in their immediate family (54%) and a family monthly income ranging from 20,000–50,000 Bangladeshi Taka [BDT; 84.87 BDT = 1 US$] (47.6%). 7.3% reported poor self-perceived health status
Almost 6% reported that COVID-19 had affected their family members, while the majority reported that COVID-19 had affected people in their residential area (72.3%)

Summary

Introduction

The world is undergoing an uncertain coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which has cost millions of lives, impacted the economy, and had severe mental health consequences. To prevent the spread of the virus, the Bangladesh government imposed a nationwide as well as partial (zonal) lockdown, home quarantine, and travel restrictions, to other countries [4]. Pandemic related issues including fear of infection and losing loved ones, spread of misinformation, lack of medical treatment and shortage of properly equipped units to treat patients; along with lockdown-related stress (i.e., prolonged home isolation, social distancing, food insecurity, fear of unemployment, loss of income, etc.) have been associated with poor mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic is a global threat which has challenged mental resilience and impacted the psychological well-being of people across all age groups globally.

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion