Published August 30, 2023 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Depression as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of university students

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Departamento de Atención a la Salud, División de Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Xochimilco. Ciudad de México, México. | Licenciatura en Medicina, Departamento de Atención a la Salud, División de Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Xochimilco. Ciudad de México, México.
  • 2. Licenciatura en Medicina, Departamento de Atención a la Salud, División de Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Xochimilco. Ciudad de México, México.

Description

RESUMEN

Introducción: La pandemia de COVID-19 indujo alteraciones como ansiedad y depresión, que afectaron a la población infectada. Este estudio evaluó la depresión, efecto de las restricciones pandémicas en estudiantes de una universidad pública en México.

Métodos: Se envió la Escala Zung a través de una encuesta en línea para evaluar el posible estado de depresión entre los estudiantes, durante la segunda (Febrero 2021) y cuarta olas (Mayo 2022) de la pandemia.

Resultados: El porcentaje de casos con síntomas de depresión fue mayor durante la segunda ola de la pandemia (2021), que al final de la cuarta ola (2022), aunque este incremento fue significativo solo en las mujeres (p < 0,001). El análisis de los ítems de la escala de Zung mostró que el perfil sintomatológico de la depresión era común para ambos sexos en los clústeres de alteraciones psicológicas y psicosomáticas; las diferencias entre sexos se dieron en ítems de alteraciones fisiológicas. El porcentaje de casos sin depresión aumentó significativamente en mujeres estudiantes, posiblemente relacionado con las restricciones sociales, en los hombres no hubo efectos significativos. El perfil común de depresión se encontró en ítems del clúster de “alteraciones psicológicas”, lo que sugiere que ambos géneros coincidieron en el impacto psicológico de la COVID-19. El clúster de alteraciones fisiológicas es lo que marcó la diferencia entre ambos sexos.

Conclusión: En mujeres universitarias en México, los casos con síntomas depresivos fueron mayores durante la segunda ola y disminuyeron hacia el final de la pandemia.

 

 

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic induced alterations such as anxiety and depression, that may affect infected people. This study evaluated the depression as an effect of pandemic restrictions in students at a public university in Mexico.

Methods: A survey was conducted using the Zung Scale to assess depressive symptoms that may suggest a possible state of depression among students. The scale was sent online at the second (February 2021) and fourth (May 2022) waves of the pandemic.

Results: The percentage of cases with depressive symptoms was greater during the pandemic second wave, than at the end of the pandemic fourth wave, although this increment was only significant in women (p < 0.001). The analyses of Zung scale items showed that the symptomatologic profile of depressive students had common items for both sexes, in the clusters of psychological and psychosomatic alterations; the differences between sexes were mainly in items of physiological alterations. The percentage of cases without depression increased significantly in female students, possibly related to the end of the isolative restrictions, although in men there were no significant effects. A common profile of depression was found in items of the cluster of "psychological alterations", which suggests that both genders had similar psychological impact of COVID-19. The physiological alterations’ cluster makes the difference for the diagnoses of depression between both sexes.

Conclusion: In female university students in Mexico, the cases with depressive symptoms was greater during the second wave of the pandemic and decreased towards the end of it.

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