Depression, anxiety, and stress in dentists in times of covid-19 in northern Peru

Abstract

Objective: To determine the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress in dentists working in the northern region of Peru in times of COVID-19. Material and Methods: 310 dentists working in the northern region of Peru in times of COVID-19 were evaluated by means of an observational and cross-sectional study. Subjects were asked to give their informed consent and answer a virtual questionnaire containing 21 items based on the DASS-21 Scale that assesses depression, anxiety, and stress. A descriptive analysis was carried out with frequencies; for the variables of gender and years of work experience the Chi square test (p<0.05) was used. Results: It was found that 291 (93.87%) of the dentists suffered from some type of psychological disorder: stress (35.74%), anxiety (35.05%), depression (29.21%). Mild stress was the most prevalent accounting for 49.04% (51); mild depression with 45.88% (39), and moderate anxiety with 40.20% (41). A higher prevalence was found in females and in those dentists who had less than 5 years of work experience. Conclusion: 93.87% of dentists working in the northern region of Peru in times of COVID-19 presented some type of psychological disorder, a higher frequency of mild stress was found, followed by mild depression, and moderate anxiety.

Frequency and associated factors of mental health problems in COVID-19 vaccinated workers at a Peruvian public hospital

“…De igual manera, existió un incremento en la incidencia (9) de síntomas depresivos en la población en general , lo que re ejaría indirectamente una progresión en todas las áreas laborales y no solo en áreas asistenciales (10) críticas . Revisiones sistemáticas globales han comparado la frecuencia de problemas de salud mental durante la pandemia COVID-19 entre trabajadores de salud y de otras áreas, demostrando niveles similares de (11) distrés, pero diferenciándose en las causas .…”