Psychological distress facing the COVID-19 pandemic in dental interns from the Peruvian capital: A cross-sectional study under a multivariable regression model.

Aim: Psychological distress can be considered a maladaptive response to a stressful situation that occurs when external events or stressors impose demands that cannot be coped with. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the sociodemographic factors associated with psychological distress in dental interns from the Peruvian capital facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: This analytical, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted on 392 Stomatology interns from the Peruvian capital from June to July 2022. The validated COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) scale to detect the levels of psychological distress consisted of four dimensions: negative mood, changes in behavior and cognitive skills, fatigue and hyperreactivity, and somatization. Pearson's chi-square and Fisher's exact test were used for bivariable analysis. In addition, a logit model was used to assess the influence of variables: sex (X1), age group (X2), marital status (X3), monthly economic income (X4), working area in the capital city (X5), and living with people vulnerable to COVID-19 (X6), with the psychological distress levels, considering a significance p < 0.05. Results: The prevalence of psychological distress in dental interns was severe in 6.4% [95% confidence interval (CI): 3.9-8.8%] and mild in 37.8% (95% CI: 33.0-42.6%). According to bivariable analysis, the levels of psychological distress by COVID-19 were not significantly associated with sex (p = 0.190), age group (p = 0.418), marital status (p = 0.554), monthly economic income (p = 0.327), working area in the capital city (p = 0.993), and living with people vulnerable to COVID-19 (p = 0.134). In addition, according to the logistic regression analysis, none of the variables studied was considered an influential factor (p > 0.05) in psychological distress presented by dental interns. Conclusion: The 44.2% of dental interns from the Peruvian capital presented psychological distress facing the COVID-19 pandemic, without any of the possible associated variables of this study significantly affecting this behavioral disorder.

Impact of COVID-19 Mandatory Social Isolation on the Development of Anxiety in Peruvian Dentistry Students: A Logistic Regression Analysis.

AIM: The COVID-19 pandemic has generated much concern worldwide. Due to its high transmissibility, many young university students have had to carry out their academic activities in mandatory social isolation, which could generate excessive anxiety. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the anxiety levels in Peruvian dentistry students developed during COVID-19 mandatory social isolation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An analytical, observational, and transversal study was carried out in 403 dentistry students in the last two years from three Peruvian universities from May to July 2020. The Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale was used to detect anxiety symptoms and their respective diagnoses. A logit model was used to evaluate the association of the variables: age group (X1), gender (X2), type of university (X3), and marital status (X4), with the anxiety levels of the students, considering a p-value less than 0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of anxiety resulted in 56.8% (95% confidence interval (CI): 51.9-61.7) of 403 dentistry students. According to the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the type of university was the only variable that demonstrated to have a significant influence on the development of anxiety with an odds ratio (OR = 1.98; CI: 1.29-3.02); whereas the other variables such as age group (OR = 0.77; CI: 0.49-1.20), gender (OR = 1.15; CI: 0.72-1.84), and marital status (OR = 0.75; CI: 0.35-1.60) were not considered factors that influenced the development of anxiety. CONCLUSION: More than a half of the Peruvian dentistry students from three universities showed mild-to-severe anxiety levels. Students from a private university have a 98% higher chance of developing anxiety in comparison to students from public universities. Other variables such as gender, age group, or marital status were not considered influencing factors to develop anxiety.