Depressive and anxiety symptoms and COVID-19-related factors among men and women in Nigeria

Abstract

Despite the greater adverse economic impacts in low and middle-income (LAMI) compared to high-income countries, fewer studies have investigated the associations between COVID-19-related stressor and mental health in LAMI countries. The objectives of this study were to determine the associations between COVID-19-related stressors and anxiety and depressive symptoms while controlling for known risk and protective factors and to investigate any sex differences. An online survey was carried out to assess sociodemographic, psychosocial (previous mental health conditions, sexual orientation, intimate partner violence and perceived social support) and COVID-19-related variables. Hierarchical linear regression was carried out with anxiety and depressive symptoms as separate outcomes. Of the COVID-19-related factors, testing positive for COVID-19 infection, having COVID-19 symptoms, having other medical conditions, self-isolating due to COVID-19 symptoms, worry about infection, perception of the pandemic as a threat to income and isolation during the lockdown were significantly associated with higher anxiety and depressive symptoms. Of these, worry about infection, isolation during lockdown and disruption due to the pandemic retained independent associations with both outcomes. The variance in anxiety and depressive symptoms explained by COVID-19-related factors was larger in women (11.8%) compared to men (6.1% and 0.8% respectively). COVID-19-related stressors are associated with higher anxiety and depressive symptoms, with these effects being larger in men compared to women. Enhancing social support can be an affordable strategy to mitigate this risk but this needs to be investigated using appropriate designs.

Psychological Distress, Anxiety, Depression, and Associated Factors Among Nigerian Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The high rate of psychological distress found among healthcare workers in the present study is consistent with that found in Nigeria [7], in other low-and-middle-income countries [25] and high-income countries [26]. Our findings that the female subjects experience significantly higher levels of psychological distress is in keeping with previous studies that have explored gender differences in the general population [27], and the distress associated with the untoward experiences in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic [28]. This has been reported among the general population and among populations of health workers in developed and developing countries.…”

“…Women tend to experience more psychological distress because of role strain, work balance problems, lack of sufficient support systems, and unique challenges of pregnancy and motherhood [ 29 ]. While men could experience more disruptions than women in some aspects of their life [ 30 ], the overall experience of psychological distress has consistently been more among the women [ 28 ]. This may also reflect the higher vulnerability of women for internalizing problems [ 31 ] while men may be more likely to manifest distress with externalizing problems [ 32 ].…”

The Associations of Suspected COVID-19 Symptoms with Anxiety and Depression as Modified by Hemodialysis Dietary Knowledge: A Multi-Dialysis Center Study

“…In our study, the important predictor of anxiety and depression was S-COVID-19-S. Similarly, previous studies have found that people with S-COVID-19-S had a higher depression likelihood [26,30,60]. In addition, hemodialysis patients who have a family member with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were more likely to experience anxiety [23].…”

Associations between sexual identity, living with disability, bully victimisation, and HIV status and intimate partner violence among residents in Nigeria

“…Each item was scored 0 (No) or 1 (Yes). The instrument had been previously used in Nigeria with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.73 [33]. The Cronbach's alpha in the present study was 0.80.…”