Psychological symptoms and related risk factors among healthcare workers and medical students during the early phase of the COVID‐19 pandemic in Japan

Abstract

Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the mental health status of healthcare workers and medical students during the early phase of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods An online questionnaire was administered to 637 students and 3189 healthcare workers from May to July, 2020. The patient healthcare questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9) and state anxiety (A‐State) of the state–trait anxiety inventory‐form (STAI) were used to assess depression and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Individuals were categorized into severe (15 or higher) depression and severe (50–51 or higher) anxiety groups. Results Healthcare workers and those taking care of COVID‐19 patients had a higher risk of severe depression (PHQ‐9 scores >15) than other comparison groups. Students and men also had a higher risk of severe anxiety (STAI > 50–51). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that healthcare workers had a fivefold higher risk of developing severe depression symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 4.99, confidence interval [CI] 2.24–5.97, P‐value < 0.001) and those taking care of COVID‐19 patients had 2.8‐fold higher risk of developing severe depression symptoms (OR 2.75, CI 1.36–5.53, P‐value = 0.005). Conclusion Both medical students and healthcare workers have been experiencing depression and anxiety symptoms during the first wave of the pandemic. Our findings showed a high rate of severe anxiety symptoms in medical students and a high rate of severe depression symptoms in healthcare workers. Those who treated COVID‐19 patients were at greater risk of developing major depressive disorder than those who treated non‐COVID‐19 patients.

The psychological distress and suicide-related ideation in hospital workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Second results from repeated cross-sectional surveys

“…Previous studies have reported that anxiety correlates independently with depression and suicide-related ideation [ 47 – 49 ]. However, a previous study on HCWs and medical students in Japan showed that the severity of depression symptoms was not correlated with anxiety symptoms [ 50 ]. Although it may be essential to differentiate anxiety disorder from anxiety symptoms or ‘anxiety’ from COVID-19 infection here in our analysis, our analysis showed that recognizing or expressing ‘anxiety’ from infection could be a protective factor for suicide-related ideation.…”

Efficacy and safety of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Lpc-37® in students facing examination stress: A randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (the ChillEx study)

“…Asian populations seem to have a more elevated STAI-state under comparable circumstances. One study on 637 Japanese medical students reported a mean STAI-state score of 42 (39–46 interquartile range) ( Tanifuji et al, 2022 ). In fact, previous studies conducted in Japan and India showing efficacy of probiotics have reported STAI-state scores above 40 at baseline, and the participants included also reported a smaller variation in this parameter ( Nishida et al, 2017 ; Venkataraman et al, 2021 ).…”

The Role of Science-Based Knowledge on the SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Reducing COVID-19-Induced Anxiety among Nurses

“…State anxiety refers to a specific threat of a shorter duration that may disappear as the threat weakens [ 13 ]; in this case, the COVID-19 outbreak [ 14 ]. Spielberger also developed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to assess anxiety [ 12 ], which has been validated among students, adults, medical patients, health care workers, and recently in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic [ 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”