Behavioral and sociodemographic predictors of anxiety and depression in patients under epidemiological surveillance for COVID-19 in Ecuador

Abstract

Ecuador has been one of the most affected countries by the Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, by April 2020 this country presented the highest rates of mortality in Latin America. The purpose of the present study was to identify behaviors during confinement and sociodemographic variables associated with the mental health status of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients who were part of the epidemiological surveillance program in Ecuador that included mandatory confinement and self-isolation. A cross-sectional study was performed from March 22 th to April 18 th , 2020 using an online survey. The survey collected socio-demographic information and severity of depressive symptoms using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and anxiety symptoms through the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. A total of 759 patients completed the questionnaire, 20.3% presented moderate to severe symptoms of depression and 22.5% moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety. Being a woman and from the Coastal region were risk factors. Exercising, maintaining daily routines, and keeping informed about the COVID-19 but limiting to an hour was associated with better mental health. Regression analysis indicated that the mentioned behaviors explained approximately 17% of the variance for depression sum scores and 11.8% of the variance for anxiety sum scores while controlling for gender and region. Understanding the association between sociodemographic variables and psychological states in patients with COVID-19 is relevant to tackle future public mental health problems and to implement health policies that are intended to palliate further psychiatric complications. Promotion of modifiable behaviors such as exercising, maintaining daily routines, and keeping informed about the COVID-19 but limiting to less than an hour is recommended.

Epidemiological, socio-demographic and clinical features of the early phase of the COVID-19 epidemic in Ecuador

“…These results could indicate that poor working conditions, poverty and therefore limited access to health services could be linked to the high mortality rates reported among the most vulnerable groups, a situation described previously [40]. The working environment and the confinement was also associated with a high prevalence of persons presenting at least mild symptoms of anxiety (58.1%) and depression (52.6%) [41].…”

The Association between Future Anxiety, Health Literacy and the Perception of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In Ecuador in patients remaining under surveillance because of COVID-19, the degree of anxiety symptoms measured with GAD-7 was significantly associated with gender and their behaviours during the period of confinement [87]. Men, those keeping a regular daily schedule, those continuing to take physical exercise, and those spending an hour or less seeking information about COVID-19, compared to those avoiding the topic, or spending more time searching for information, had lower GAD-7 scores.…”

Psychological Distress of University Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil

“…In the USA, a national representative study conducted during an acute period of COVID-19 spread found increased symptoms of anxiety and depression over time, and estimated that, in the most affected states, each day past since March 10 implied an 11% greater chance of moving to the next category of distress (e.g., moving from mild to moderate symptoms) [9]. These kind of effects of the pandemic have been reported by several other countries, including in Latin America, where contagion started later than in Europe and North America [10][11][12].…”