Depression, Anxiety, and Lifestyle Among Essential Workers: A Web Survey From Brazil and Spain During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background Essential workers have been shown to present a higher prevalence of positive screenings for anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals from countries with socioeconomic inequalities may be at increased risk for mental health disorders. Objective We aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of depression, anxiety, and their comorbidity among essential workers in Brazil and Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A web survey was conducted between April and May 2020 in both countries. The main outcome was a positive screening for depression only, anxiety only, or both. Lifestyle was measured using a lifestyle multidimensional scale adapted for the COVID-19 pandemic (Short Multidimensional Inventory Lifestyle Evaluation–Confinement). A multinomial logistic regression model was performed to evaluate the factors associated with depression, anxiety, and the presence of both conditions. Results From the 22,786 individuals included in the web survey, 3745 self-reported to be essential workers. Overall, 8.3% (n=311), 11.6% (n=434), and 27.4% (n=1027) presented positive screenings for depression, anxiety, and both, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, the multinomial model showed that an unhealthy lifestyle increased the likelihood of depression (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 4.00, 95% CI 2.72-5.87), anxiety (AOR 2.39, 95% CI 1.80-3.20), and both anxiety and depression (AOR 8.30, 95% CI 5.90-11.7). Living in Brazil was associated with increased odds of depression (AOR 2.89, 95% CI 2.07-4.06), anxiety (AOR 2.81, 95%CI 2.11-3.74), and both conditions (AOR 5.99, 95% CI 4.53-7.91). Conclusions Interventions addressing lifestyle may be useful in dealing with symptoms of common mental disorders during the strain imposed among essential workers by the COVID-19 pandemic. Essential workers who live in middle-income countries with higher rates of inequality may face additional challenges. Ensuring equitable treatment and support may be an important challenge ahead, considering the possible syndemic effect of the social determinants of health.

Brazilian Adaptation of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: A Psychometric Investigation of a Measure of Coronaphobia

“…According to recent studies, the most affected groups were young adults, women, participants with a previous diagnosis of mental disorder and individuals at higher risk from coronavirus (Duarte et al, 2020;Goularte et al, 2021;Seco Ferreira et al, 2020). Anxiety, depression and sleep disorders were the most common psychiatric symptoms in essential workers (De Boni et al, 2020) and health professionals (Barroso et al, 2020). Also, the lifestyle changes imposed by the pandemic decreased the practice of physical activities and increased the consumption of alcohol and tobacco.…”

Factors Associated with Symptoms of Depression and Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Conversely, the association between social distancing and decreases in symptoms of depression was somewhat unexpected-mostly because studies from several countries have demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to considerable increases in symptoms of depression [43][44][45][46][47][48]. However, after conducting an in-depth literature search, participant compliance with COVID-19 precautionary measures may explain the association.…”

SARS-CoV-2 mediated neuroinflammation and the impact of COVID-19 in neurological disorders

“…As a secondary consequence, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has instigated a mental health crisis among the world’s population. Indeed, numerous reports have described high prevalence (condition-dependent ranges of 12% – 67.5%) of anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as insomnia and the presence of emotional trauma among clinical care providers and essential workers [ [170] , [171] , [172] ]). Among the general population, the social isolation, uncertainty and low locus of control induced by global lockdowns is a very likely explanation for the observed up-tick in patients seeking mental health treatment and presenting with mood dysregulation.…”