Prevalence and Factors Associated with Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh: A Survey-Based Cross-Sectional Study

03, June 2020 | Bangladesh

Authors:

Abstract

Background: Feelings of isolation, insecurity, and instability triggered by COVID-19 could have a long-term impact on the mental health status of individuals. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of mental health symptoms (anxiety, depression, and stress) in Bangladesh and the factors associated with these symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: From 1 to 30 April 2020, we used a validated self-administered questionnaire to conduct a cross-sectional study on 10,609 participants through an online survey platform. We assessed mental health status using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The total depression, anxiety, and stress subscale scores were divided into normal, mild, moderate, severe, and multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associated factors. Findings: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 15%, 34%, and 15% for mild, moderate, and severe depressive symptoms, respectively. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms was 59% for severe anxiety symptoms, 14% for moderate anxiety symptoms, and 14% for mild anxiety symptoms, while the prevalence for stress levels were 16% for severe stress level, 22% for moderate stress level, and 13% for mild stress level. Multivariate analyses revealed that the most consistent factors associated with mild, moderate, and severe of the three mental health subscales (depression, anxiety, and stress) were respondents who lived in Dhaka and Rangpur division, females, those who self-quarantined in the previous seven days before the survey, and those respondents who experienced chills, breathing difficulty, dizziness, and sore throat.