Comparison of the severity of psychological distress among four groups of an Iranian population regarding COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused serious psychological problems, including panic attack, anxiety, stress, and depression. The main objective of this study was to measure the prevalence and compare the severity of this psychological distress among four groups of an Iranian population. Method: In a cross-sectional survey, the mental health status of four groups of an Iranian society including community population, patients with COVID-19, medical staff, and medical students were investigated by the selfreport questionnaire of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS). DASS-21 questionnaire and the demographic data sheet were filled out by the participants. All statistical analyses were done using R version 3.6.1 software. Pvalues less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. ANOVA test was used to compare the severity of stress, anxiety, and depression between the four study groups. Results: Of the 886 participants in this survey, 554 (62.5%) were men and 332 (37.5%) were women, and the mean ± standard division of age was 40.91 ± 10.7 years. Among these participants, 241 (27.2%) were selected from community population, 221 (24.9%) were patients with COVID-19, 217 (24.5%) were medical staff, and 207 (23.4%) were medical students. The mean score of stress, anxiety, and depression in medical students and patients with COVID-19 was significantly higher than in medical staff and community population (P < 0.05). Overall, the anxiety score in men was higher than that in women (27.4 ± 4.6 vs. 26.48 ± 4.8, P = 0.006), and unmarried participants had a significantly higher depression score compared with the married group (27.5 ± 4.8 vs. 26.7 ± 4.6, P = 0.023). In addition, the score of depression was higher in female medical staff (27.08 ± 4.6 vs. 25.33 ± 4.3, P = 0.011) and community population (26.6 ± 4.3 vs. 25.3 ± 4.3, P = 0.02) than in male. Conclusion: COVID-19 patients and medical students in contact with these patients were at a high risk for mental illness due to lower experience compared with professional medical staff and community population. Continuous surveillance and monitoring of psychological distress for outbreaks should become a routine part of preparedness efforts worldwide.

The role of social media in spreading panic among primary and secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic: An online questionnaire study from the Gaza Strip, Palestine

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Online-Learning due to COVID-19 Improved Mental Health Among Medical Students

“…According to one systematic review of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental well-being of people, it can be concluded that many segments of the population have experienced a negative impact on their mental state. A study conducted among the Iranian population showed that medical students had significantly higher scores for stress, anxiety, and depression compared with that of medical staff and community populations [4]. Fear of a new virus, social distancing, job loss, and increased media attention, along with a lack of information and knowledge about the pandemic, has created and exacerbated feelings of insecurity, depression, and anxiety [5].…”

A moderated-mediation model of fear of illness and subjective psychological well-being during COVID-19 pandemic

“…The current pandemic of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is spreading and affecting people exponentially day after day. Novel diseases are traumatic as they give a sense of uncertainty and act as a threat to life which triggers fear of illness (Vahedian-Azimi, 2020). Extant literature reveals negative mental health outcomes are sequelae of exposure to traumatic events (Pine et al, 2005;Su & Chen, 2015).…”