Abstract
The present study's aim is to find the prevalence of two of the common indicators of mental health - depression and anxiety – and any correlation with socio-demographic indicators in the Pakistani population during the lockdown from 5 May to 25 July 2020. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using an online questionnaire sent to volunteer participants. A total of 1047 participants over 18 were recruited through convenience sampling. The survey targeted depression and anxiety levels, which were measured using a 14 item self-reporting Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Out of the total sample population (N=354), 39.9% suffered from depression and 57.7% from anxiety. Binary logistical regressions indicated significant predictive associations of gender (OR=1.410), education (OR=9.311), residence (OR=0.370), household income (OR=0.579), previous psychiatric problems (OR=1.671), and previous psychiatric medication (OR=2.641). These were the key factors e associated with a significant increase in depression. Increases in anxiety levels were significantly linked to gender (OR=2.427), residence (OR=0.619), previous psychiatric problems (OR=1.166), and previous psychiatric medication (OR=7.330). These results suggest depression and anxiety were prevalent among the Pakistani population during the lockdown. Along with other measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, citizens' mental health needs the Pakistani government's urgent attention as well as that of mental health experts. Further large-scale, such as healthcare practitioners, should be undertaken to identify other mental health indicators that need to be monitored.
Highlights
In early December 2019, many cases of pneumonia caused by a novel beta coronavirus were identified in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei, China (Guan et al, 2020)
The analysis indicated that gender, education, residence, household income, previous psychiatric problems and previous psychiatric medication are the key factors associated with a significant increase in depression among the participants with odds ratios of 1.410 [1.099-1.809], 9.311 [1.020-85.030], 0.370 [0.2290.596], 0.579 [0.227-1.480], 1.671 [1.244-2.246], 2.641 [1.748-3.989] and 4.711 [2.416-9.187], respectively
The present study indicated the significant prevalence of anxiety and depression in a sample of the general population of Pakistan during the COVID 19 outbreak from 5 May to 25 July 2020
Summary
In early December 2019, many cases of pneumonia caused by a novel beta coronavirus (the 2019 novel coronavirus) were identified in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei, China (Guan et al, 2020). This virus has been named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which displays phylogenetically identical characteristics to severe/ acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-Co-V) (Lu et al, 2020). It is hypothesized that persons who are exposed to a pandemic without immunization will experience anxiety, tension, and depression as a result of their fear of the unknown (in this case, the coronavirus) (Lin et al, 2021)
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