COVID-19 infodemic and depressive symptoms: The impact of the exposure to news about COVID-19 on the general Paraguayan population

Torales, Júlio; Barrios, Iván Domingo González; O’Higgins, Marcelo; Almirón-Santacruz, José; González-Urbieta, Israel; Garcı́a, Luis F.; Ríos-González, Carlos Miguel; Castaldelli‐Maia, João Mauricio; Ventriglio, Antonio

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.11.036

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…A similar survey conducted on 849 social media users in China confirmed that the amount of information, or “content overload”, significantly contributed to pandemic fatigue [ 35 ]. Additionally, people reported increased use of media to fill the gap in their social lives, especially during the first stage global lockdown, with consequences in terms of isolation and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem [ 36 ]. The higher percentage of female respondents in this survey may suggest their higher use of media in South America; these are misleading conclusions since this survey was conducted at the end of the year 2022 and is not connected to the substitute employment of online media for coping with restrictions and isolation due to the first stage of global lockdown.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The limitations of this study may include the sampling through social networks, a possible self-selection bias among respondents, and an overrepresentation of women, young people, and participants with higher levels of education. In general, people with higher levels of education are more likely to participate in the surveys [ 41 ], and women are more inclined to participate than men and youths more than elderly people [ 36 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Pandemic Fatigue” in South America: A Multi-Center Report from Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay

et al. 2023

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a heavy impact on daily life, leading to physical and psychosocial consequences. Nowadays, clinicians and health researchers are particularly interested in describing and facing the long-term effects of COVID-19, also known as “long-COVID syndrome”. Pandemic fatigue has been defined as a cluster of demotivation, tiredness, and psychological effects that emerge gradually over time after the infection or through the adoption of the recommended measures to combat it. In this study, we report the findings of a large survey conducted in South America involving 1448 participants (mean age: 33.9 ± 11.2 years old) from Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Peru, and Paraguay. An online survey was launched through the common social media based on a specific assessment aimed to detect the prevalence of pandemic fatigue and associated factors. Socio-demographic characteristics, medical, and personal information were collected; the Pandemic Fatigue Scale (PFS) and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) were also administered. We found mid-levels of pandemic fatigue among respondents (21.7 ± 7.95 score at PFS) as well as significant anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic (1.56 ± 2.76 score at CAS). In addition, pandemic fatigue was significantly associated with the experience of the loss of a relative/friend due to COVID-19, anxiety related to the infection, and reliance on social media as a primary source of information on the pandemic. Vaccination significantly reduced the levels of fatigue among respondents. Our findings may add to the international debate regarding the long-term health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies to manage them in the general population of South America.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Pandemic Fatigue” in South America: A Multi-Center Report from Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay

et al. 2023

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“…However, these scores were lower than those described in the pre-pandemic observations in Spain and Peru, with significant depression levels in less than half of respondents (Astocondor Altamirano et al, 2019; Capdevilla et al, 2020). Nonetheless, Torales et al (2022) and Torales, Insaurralde, Ríos-González, Ruíz Díaz, et al (2021) found similar rates in the general Paraguayan population during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the significant association between technostress and depression in our study might be explained by the particular vulnerability of University students to the pandemic-related stress, as well as difficulties with the ICTs-mediated learning process (Haubrich & Froehlich, 2020; Torales et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Technostress, anxiety, and depression among university students: A report from Paraguay

Torales

Torres-Romero

Giuseppe

et al. 2022

Int J Soc Psychiatry

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Background: Although technologies (including information, e-learning, and communication) have been daily employed by University students in the last years, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a considerable increase in their use. Technostress is a modern term referring to levels of stress caused by the prolonged exposure to technology. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the technostress and related anxiety and depression among Paraguayan University students, describing their sociodemographic characteristics and relevant associations. Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive study has been conducted. Participants were recruited through an Internet-based survey. Technostress, anxiety, and depression have been assessed with the Technostress Questionnaire (TechQ), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), respectively. Results: A total of 378 participants were included, 74.1% of whom were women. According to the TechQ scores, 47.4% of the participants reported a low/moderate level of technostress whereas 5.2% showed severe scores. About 58.5% of participants reported a GAD-7 score ⩾10, meeting diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety. About 60.3% scored ⩾3 at the PHQ-2 reporting significant levels of depression. Technostress has been significantly associated with levels of anxiety ( p < .001) as well as depression ( p < .001). Conclusion: Our results suggest further research regarding the implications of technostress on the well-being of University students. Specific measures aimed to improve students’ coping with the challenges of technology and technostress should be promoted.

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“…The impact of media consumption on mental health was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, where there was a huge amount of misinformation (infodemic), especially on digital media [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Torales et al (2022) reported that exposure to longer hours of COVID-19-related news was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms in the Paraguayan population (OR: 1.933) [ 53 ]. The role of the media is critical as it can extend the traumatic effect of a crisis to those who are not directly affected by it.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear Anxiety Amid the Russian-Ukrainian War 2022 (RUW-22): Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Riad

Drobov

Alkasaby

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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Nuclear anxiety, which refers to the fear of nuclear war and its consequences, is expected to increase amid the Russian–Ukrainian War of 2022 (RUW-22). This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of nuclear anxiety and its associated variables among university students in the Czech Republic during the first weeks of RUW-22. A cross-sectional survey-based study was carried out from March–April 2022, utilizing a digital self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) to collect data from the target population. The SAQ consisted of multiple-choice items inquiring about demographic characteristics; generalized anxiety symptoms using generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7); depressive symptoms using patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9); and attitudes towards civilian uses of nuclear power, and nuclear war-related anxiety. Of the 591 participating students, 67.7% were females, 68.2% were Czech nationals, and 61.8% followed the RUW-22 news at least once daily. The mean GAD-7 score of our participants was 7.86 ± 5.32 (0–21); and their mean PHQ-9 score was 8.66 ± 6.29 (0–27). Regarding the civilian uses of nuclear power, most participants agreed that nuclear power was safe (64.5%), denied being afraid that civilian use of nuclear power might deteriorate their health (79.7%), and thought that public acceptance was important for building new nuclear power plants (56.9%). About 42.1% and 45.5% of the participants reported feeling depressed at the possibility of nuclear war and agreed that the chances that there would be a nuclear war in their lifetime were very high, respectively. When asked about their preparedness measures during the previous four weeks, less than one quarter (23.9%) reported looking for recommendations for protection against nuclear accidents, and less than one-fifth (19.3%) were looking for the nearest bomb shelter. The depression about nuclear war possibility was positively and relatively strongly correlated with the level of “feeling concerned about the RUW-22” (rs = 0.401), and it was moderately correlated with GAD-7 (rs = 0.377) and PHQ-9 (rs = 0.274) scores and weakly correlated with RUW-2-related news-following frequency (rs = 0.196). Within the limitations of the present study, nuclear anxiety was common among Czech university students. Its associated factors may include but are not limited to the female gender; common psychological disorders such as generalized anxiety and depression; RUW-22-related news following-frequency; and the level of “feeling concerned”.

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COVID-19 infodemic and depressive symptoms: The impact of the exposure to news about COVID-19 on the general Paraguayan population

Cited by 18 publications

References 41 publications

“Pandemic Fatigue” in South America: A Multi-Center Report from Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay

“Pandemic Fatigue” in South America: A Multi-Center Report from Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay

Technostress, anxiety, and depression among university students: A report from Paraguay

Nuclear Anxiety Amid the Russian-Ukrainian War 2022 (RUW-22): Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

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