Influencing Factors Associated With Mental Health Outcomes Among Dental Medical Staff in Emergency Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study in China

Abstract

Background: The epidemic infection of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may have a profound impact on dentistry, mainly due to the mode of transmission of the pathogen, which poses a risk to almost all dental operations. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and acute stress disorder among dental medical staff in emergency situations during the COVID-19 epidemic.Methods: From April 3, 2020, to April 10, 20204, a multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted among 808 first-line dental professionals at an emergency department in mainland China. A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect general demographic information. The 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and Acute Stress Disorder Scale (ASDS) were used to assess the severity of symptoms of anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and acute stress disorder (ASD), respectively.Results: The prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, perceived pressure, and ASD among the frontline dental medical staff were 46.4, 36.3, 65.2, and 1.1%, respectively. The frontline dental medical staff who were working in the Wuhan area reported experiencing more anxiety (p = 0.038) and perceived stress (p < 0.001) compared with those who were not working in the Wuhan area. The frontline dental medical staff who were working in a general hospital reported experiencing more dissociation symptoms (p = 0.001) compared with those working in a specialized or private hospital. Individuals with a past medical history reported experiencing more anxiety (p = 0.009), depression (p < 0.001), and perceived stress (p = 0.003) than those without, and individuals with lower levels of education showed higher levels of anxiety (p = 0.038). Binary logistic regression analysis results (after controlling for other confounders) suggested that having a past medical history was a risk factor for both anxiety (p = 0.002; OR = 2.441; 95% CI, 1.384–4.306) and perceived stress (p = 0.001; OR = 1.417; 95% CI, 1.145–1.754).Conclusions: The prevalence of mental symptoms was high among the first-line emergency dental staff. Male sex, working in the Wuhan area, working in a general hospital, a past medical history, and lower levels of education were risk factors. Therefore, we need to pay close attention to the mental health problems of frontline dentists during the COVID-19 outbreak and adopt active preventive strategies to maintain their physical and mental health.

Influencing Factors of Mental Health Status of Dentists Under COVID-19 Epidemic

“…(2) Among the study subjects, more doctors were working in government hospitals, so there may be a deviation in the sample results. Interestingly, our study found that education level was inversely associated with stress status, which was similar to Chen et al ( 32 ).…”

“…Perceived wellness survey (PWS) is a valid scale for researching and evaluating interventions in the field of perceived health, with good reliability and validity (14,15). The PWS contains 36 items which included six dimensions: physical (1,7,13,19,25,31), emotional (2,8,14,20,26,32), social (3,9,15,21,27,33), psychological (4,10,16,22,28,34), spiritual (5,11,17,23,29,35), and intellectual (6,12,18,24,30,36) which were selected based on the strength of theoretical support and the quality of empirical evidence supporting each. The PWS assesses the perceived health of individuals and their physical, mental, and spiritual states and the social health they exhibit through relationships with others.…”

Anxiety Levels among Polish and Turkish Dentists during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Many recent studies have reported similar findings regarding the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for dental health professionals. The prevalence of anxiety among frontline dental staff was reported to be 46.4% in a study by Chen et al [ 30 ]. In another study 42.5% of dentists had COVID-19-associated anxiety and 35% of them had general health disorders [ 28 ].…”

“…The dental care environment, which involves face-to-face communication with patients and exposure to saliva, blood, other body fluids and airborne microorganisms suspended in the air for long periods, as well as handling sharp instruments, carries the risk of contagion [ 20 ]. Moreover, working conditions, work-related stressors and the high risk of infection, as well as the fear of contagion and spread to family members, may have influenced dentists’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ].…”

COVID-19 incidence, severity, medication use, and vaccination among dentists: survey during the second wave in Brazil

“…Dentists who reported no fear of being infected by the disease were more likely to be infected by COVID-19, which raises questions about the influence of the more or less strict preventive measures adopted by them. Moreover, the high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in dental offices, along with the frequent occurrence of COVID-19 among dentists’ relatives and friends, could be associated with high levels of psychosis and anxiety, 2 , 5 which may help to explain the high prevalence of use of off-label medication for COVID-19.…”