PREVALENCE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY OF ISOLATED PATIENTS WITH COVID-19

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) is a mortal and morbid disease. Literature about its psychiatric manifestations is lacking in pakistan. This study aimed to assess the rate of depression and anxiety among non-symptomatic adults' with COVID-19). This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 280 patients at a COVID-19 isolation Hotel in Islamabad City, Pakistan during the period from May 2020 to November 2020. A structured questionnaire based on sociodemographic data, chronic diseases, smoking status, the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the seven-component anxiety questionnaire was used to interview the patients. The questionnaires have been previously validated. Verbal consent was taken from all the participants and The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis. Out of 280 patients with Covid-19 (64.6% males), their ages ranged from 18-80 with a mean of 34.62±11.21 years. Depression was reported in 23.1% and anxiety in 21.5%. Depression was associated with education (Wald 5.70, P-value=0.024, and 95% CI=0.07- 083), occupation (Wald 9.88, P-value=0.042), and anxiety (Wald 7.05, P-value=0.008, and 95% CI=0.18-0.77). No significant statistical differences were found regarding other parameters.Depression and anxiety among patients with COVID-19 were not different from those observed in the general population in Pakistan and were associated with sex, occupation, and education. Further multi-center studies focusing on psychiatric disorders among different occupations are needed.

KEYWORDS: Anxiety, depression, asymptomatic COVID-19, Saudi Arabia.