Depression, Anxiety and Quality of Life among Online Responders in Poland: A Cross-Sectional Study Covering Four Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of the population. This study aims to assess the prevalence of subjective depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as assess the quality of life in different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic based on an online survey. Methods: The study was conducted based on an original and anonymous questionnaire, consisting of a section assessing sociodemographic status and psychometric tools: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) and Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA). A total of 6739 people participated in the survey, with the largest number from the first wave of the pandemic (2467—36.6%), followed by 1627 (24.1%) for the second wave, 1696 (25.2%) for wave three and 949 (14.1%) for wave four. The mean age of the study group was 28.19 ± 9.94. Results: There was an initial, gradual increase in depressive and anxiety symptoms over the three waves. There were no significant differences in the quality-of-life scores, except for the second and third waves (−0.0846; p = 0.013. It was found that women, residents of big cities and people with psychiatric history showed higher BDI and GAD-7 scores. Conclusions: The impact of the pandemic on mental health was not homogeneous, with the first three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic having more of an impact compared to the fourth wave. Female respondents’ sex, history of mental disease and reduced earning capacity exacerbated psychiatric symptoms.

The Mental Health of Poles during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Interesting comparison of mental health of Polish people between the first three waves of the pandemic and the fourth wave was made by Babicki et al [20]. As in the presented study, they found that factors that increased anxiety and depression were younger age, female, and reduced earning capacity.…”

“…As in the presented study, they found that factors that increased anxiety and depression were younger age, female, and reduced earning capacity. It can be assumed that the difference in the results of the fourth wave of the pandemic can be explained by the citizen's adaptation to the situation and the loosening of restrictions [20].…”

“…In the scientific literature, many COVID-19-related problems have been widely discussed so far, including also mental health [16,17]. The numerous negative psychological consequences of the pandemic itself and related quarantine were documented [18][19][20].…”

Burnout, Depression, and Job Stress Factors in Healthcare Workers of a Romanian COVID-19 Dedicated Hospital, after Two Pandemic Years

“…Our results are quite similar to those obtained with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) in a study conducted in Turkey in March 2020 on 442 participants who were on the front line and caring for patients with COVID-19, which showed that 64.7% of participants had symptoms of depression, 51.6% had anxiety, and 41.2% had stress [44]. Regarding the evolution of depression symptoms during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland, a cross-sectional study covering four waves was published in 2022 and showed that the first three waves had more impact compared to the fourth wave [45].…”

Risk and protective factors associated with mental health status in an Italian sample of students during the fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic

“…These findings highlight the importance of assessing people’s psychological condition during the pandemic and the factors associated to their mental health outcomes. However, the majority of studies were conducted during the first waves, while fewer included the fourth wave [ 8 , 11 ], finding significant differences regarding the impact on mental health of the first waves compared to the last ones. Moreover, there is a lack of Italian studies specifically aimed at broadly assessing such aspects among young people.…”