Prevalence of Depression and its Associated Factors Among Adults during Third Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia, 2021

Abstract

Malaysia recently entered third-wave of COVID-19 pandemic starting from October 2020 to end of January 2021. Therefore, objective of our study was to identify the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among adults during third wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. A total of 1468 Malaysian adults participated in this cross-sectional web-based survey. A standardized questionnaire was generated using the Google Form, and the link was shared through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp. Patient Health Questionnaires (PHQ-9) was used to assess the levels of depression. Among 1468 participants, 320 (22 %) and 358 (24.6 %) indicated to have moderate to severe depression during third-wave of COVID-19 in Malaysia. Multiple predictors were identified that contributed to depression. These included female gender, family’s source income affected by the pandemic, do not perform exercise, victim of abuse and those with family and/or friends infected with COVID-19 virus. COVID-19 pandemic had caused the implementation of lockdown and physical distancing in Malaysia and nations across the globe. The pandemic had brought serious negative impacts on mental health of the adults especially depression especially during third wave of pandemic. The findings of our study suggested that new interventions or strategies are needed to be developed to address the severity of depression among Malaysian adults.