Chronic pain, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in nursing students in pandemic times

Abstract

Objectives To identify the manifestations of chronic pain (CP), anxiety, and depressive symptoms in nursing students at a federal public university in pandemic times, analyzing the association between these variables and to describe population characteristics. Method This was a quantitative, cross-sectional, observational, and analytical study carried out from July to November 2020 with a sample of 119 nursing students enrolled in the second half of 2020. Questionnaires were used to characterize sociodemographic and lifestyle habits, the body map of the Multidimensional Pain Evaluation Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Results Nursing students in the studied sample are mostly female, with a mean age of 23.4 years, and 37.8% live with CP. Students with CP had higher anxiety levels and more depressive symptoms. There was an association between PC, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in this sample. Conclusion During the pandemic period investigated, an association was found between PC, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in the population of nursing students at the studied university, indicating that those who live with PC experience higher anxiety levels and more depressive symptoms than students without PC.