Emotional distress in COVID-19 patients in Maldives

Abstract

Background and objectives Researchers are exploring the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, treatment, vaccination and the challenges faced by healthcare authorities. However less focus is being paid towards the impact of COVID-19 on mental health of the patients. This study is a cross-sectional study, measuring the prevalence of emotional distress among patients with COVID-19 in the Maldivian population. Methods This study was conducted in Maldivian nations above 18 of age with COVID-19 who were admitted in isolation facilities. Patients who were on treatment for any other chronic medical conditions, severe and critical COVID-19 disease were excluded. This study was conducted over a period of 2 months by administering a local translated version of DASS21 questionnaire. Results The total of 195 patients were included in this study. The mean age of the patients was 40 (CI at 95% 38–42) years. The respondents were 48.7% men and 51.3% women. Overall, 9% of patients with COVID-19 had depression while 23% of patients had anxiety and 12% of the patients had stress. There was a statistically significant relationship between gender and depression, anxiety and stress (p < 0.01). Symptomatic cases had a significantly higher level of stress than asymptomatic patients (p < 0.05), but no significant association was observed with symptomatic status and anxiety or depression. Conclusion The management of patients with COVID-19 should be multi-disciplinary with special focus on the mental wellbeing of our patients. We should aim to establish proper communication with the patients in order to identify emotional distress and provide appropriate mental health care.

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“…32 Dey et al also reported that 23% of patients had anxiety, 12% had stress, and 9% had depression among individuals with COVID-19 who were admitted to isolation facilities in the Maldives. 33 In a crosssectional study of patients with COVID-19 in Iran, Servatyari et al reported that the most common issue was anxiety, affecting 64.3% of respondents, followed by depression and stress at 61.4% and 51.7%, respectively. 34 Similarly, Adhikari et al observed that the prevalence of anxiety among homeisolated patients with COVID-19 in Karnali Province, Nepal was 11.2%, followed by depression and stress, which accounted for 8.0% and 4.0%, respectively.…”

“…also reported that 23% of patients had anxiety, 12% had stress, and 9% had depression among individuals with COVID-19 who were admitted to isolation facilities in the Maldives. 33 In a cross-sectional study of patients with COVID-19 in Iran, Servatyari et al. reported that the most common issue was anxiety, affecting 64.3% of respondents, followed by depression and stress at 61.4% and 51.7%, respectively.…”

“…The total score for each domain ranges from normal to extremely severe. The levels of each domain are categorized as normal (0-9), mild (10)(11)(12), moderate (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), severe (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), and extremely severe (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42) for the depression subscale; normal (0-6), mild (7)(8)(9), moderate (10)(11)(12)(13)(14), severe (15)(16)(17)(18)(19), and extremely severe for the anxiety subscale; and normal (0-10), mild (11)(12)(13)…”