Mental health difficulties of adults with COVID-19-like symptoms in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional correlational study

17, November 2020 | Bangladesh

Authors:

Abstract

Background: The rapid spread of novel corona virus disease (COVID-19) coupled with inefficient testing capacities in Bangladesh has resulted in a number of deaths from COVID-19-like symptoms that have no official test results. This study was the first study that explored the mental health of adults with the most common COVID-19-like symptoms in Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional correlational study gathered data via an online survey to explore the mental health of Bangladeshi adults with symptoms akin to COVID-19. Level of stress, anxiety symptoms, and depressive symp- toms were measured with the DASS-21. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression was performed to examine the association of variables. Results: The prevalence rates of anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms of the overall population were 26.9% and 52.0% respectively and 55.6% reported mild to extremely severe levels of stress. Multivariate logis- tic regression determined that respondents with COVID-19-like symptoms reported higher odds for stress level (AOR = 2.043, CI = 1.51 to 2.76), anxiety symptoms (AOR = 2.770, CI = 2.04 to 3.77) and depressive symptoms (AOR = 1.482, CI = 1.12 to 1.96) than asymptomatic respondents. Limitations: There was a chance of recall bias as it was not possible to validate the information due to the retro- spective design of the study. Recruitment methods only captured internet users, which reduces the generalizability of findings. Conclusions: Patients with symptoms like those of COVID-19 should be prioritized in the healthcare setting in order to reduce mental health difficulties throughout the pandemic .