Depression and anxiety among the University community during the Covid-19 pandemic: a study in Southern Brazil
Abstract This study aimed to assess the mental health of a University community in South Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted between July-August 2020 through a self-administered questionnaire. All University staff and students were eligible. Depressi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Academia Brasileira de Ciências
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências |
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0001-37652023000100705&lng=en&tlng=en |
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| author | HELENA S. SCHUCH MARIANA G. CADEMARTORI VALESCA D. DIAS MATEUS L. LEVANDOWSKI TIAGO N. MUNHOZ PEDRO C. HALLAL FLÁVIO F. DEMARCO |
| author_facet | HELENA S. SCHUCH MARIANA G. CADEMARTORI VALESCA D. DIAS MATEUS L. LEVANDOWSKI TIAGO N. MUNHOZ PEDRO C. HALLAL FLÁVIO F. DEMARCO |
| author_sort | HELENA S. SCHUCH |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This study aimed to assess the mental health of a University community in South Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted between July-August 2020 through a self-administered questionnaire. All University staff and students were eligible. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and anxiety by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. To evaluate the effect of social distancing and mental health factors on outcomes, Poisson regression models with robust variance were performed, estimating Prevalence Ratios (PR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (95%CI). 2,785 individuals participated in the study. Prevalence of depression and anxiety were 39.2% (95%CI 37.3-41.1) and 52.5% (95% CI 50.6-54.4), respectively. Undergraduate students showed a higher prevalence of the outcomes. Not leaving the house routinely, mental health care, and previous diagnosis of mental illness were associated with both outcomes. Those with a previous medical diagnosis of depression had a 58% (PR 1.58; 95%CI 1.44; 1.74) and anxiety a 72% (PR 1.72; 95%CI 1.56; 1.91) greater prevalence of depression than their peers. An alarming prevalence of psychopathologies was observed. Despite the well-known benefits of social distancing to public health, it requires a surveillance on the population’s mental health, especially students and those with previous mental illness diagnosis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T11:05:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-480213be13e74120a13b4b7e3ebaa415 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1678-2690 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T11:05:20Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Academia Brasileira de Ciências |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências |
| spelling | doaj.art-480213be13e74120a13b4b7e3ebaa4152023-05-16T07:33:24ZengAcademia Brasileira de CiênciasAnais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências1678-26902023-05-0195110.1590/0001-3765202320220100Depression and anxiety among the University community during the Covid-19 pandemic: a study in Southern BrazilHELENA S. SCHUCHhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9932-9698MARIANA G. CADEMARTORIhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2433-8298VALESCA D. DIAShttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6104-825XMATEUS L. LEVANDOWSKIhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6188-620XTIAGO N. MUNHOZhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1281-9542PEDRO C. HALLALhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1470-6461FLÁVIO F. DEMARCOhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2276-491XAbstract This study aimed to assess the mental health of a University community in South Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted between July-August 2020 through a self-administered questionnaire. All University staff and students were eligible. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and anxiety by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. To evaluate the effect of social distancing and mental health factors on outcomes, Poisson regression models with robust variance were performed, estimating Prevalence Ratios (PR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (95%CI). 2,785 individuals participated in the study. Prevalence of depression and anxiety were 39.2% (95%CI 37.3-41.1) and 52.5% (95% CI 50.6-54.4), respectively. Undergraduate students showed a higher prevalence of the outcomes. Not leaving the house routinely, mental health care, and previous diagnosis of mental illness were associated with both outcomes. Those with a previous medical diagnosis of depression had a 58% (PR 1.58; 95%CI 1.44; 1.74) and anxiety a 72% (PR 1.72; 95%CI 1.56; 1.91) greater prevalence of depression than their peers. An alarming prevalence of psychopathologies was observed. Despite the well-known benefits of social distancing to public health, it requires a surveillance on the population’s mental health, especially students and those with previous mental illness diagnosis.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0001-37652023000100705&lng=en&tlng=enCOVID-19mental healthmental disordersdepressive symptomsuniversitiesstudent health services |
| spellingShingle | HELENA S. SCHUCH MARIANA G. CADEMARTORI VALESCA D. DIAS MATEUS L. LEVANDOWSKI TIAGO N. MUNHOZ PEDRO C. HALLAL FLÁVIO F. DEMARCO Depression and anxiety among the University community during the Covid-19 pandemic: a study in Southern Brazil Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências COVID-19 mental health mental disorders depressive symptoms universities student health services |
| title | Depression and anxiety among the University community during the Covid-19 pandemic: a study in Southern Brazil |
| title_full | Depression and anxiety among the University community during the Covid-19 pandemic: a study in Southern Brazil |
| title_fullStr | Depression and anxiety among the University community during the Covid-19 pandemic: a study in Southern Brazil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Depression and anxiety among the University community during the Covid-19 pandemic: a study in Southern Brazil |
| title_short | Depression and anxiety among the University community during the Covid-19 pandemic: a study in Southern Brazil |
| title_sort | depression and anxiety among the university community during the covid 19 pandemic a study in southern brazil |
| topic | COVID-19 mental health mental disorders depressive symptoms universities student health services |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0001-37652023000100705&lng=en&tlng=en |
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