Prevalence of Internet Addiction and Its Association with Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Medical Students during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Introduction: The use of the internet has become an integral part of everyday life in these modern times of digitalization, especially the lives of adolescents. At the same time, excessive use of the internet has emerged as a significant affliction. However, the impact of Internet addiction has not been well studied in India on these crucial years of life. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of internet addiction and its association with depression, anxiety and stress among medical students during the COVID -19 pandemic. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students of Saveetha Medical College, Chennai during the covid-19 pandemic. A pretested, predesigned questionnaire, Young's Internet Addiction Scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS21) are used in the study. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test were used to assess the association between internet addiction and depression, anxiety and stress. Result(s): A very high prevalence (72.04%) of internet addiction was observed among the respondents. The primary purposes of using the internet were entertainment (21.30%) and social media (20.80%) followed by academics (18.07%), and a majority (40.13%) reported spending 3-5 hours a day followed by more than 5 hours a day (38.49%). There was a significant association between Internet addiction and depression (odds ratio =8), anxiety (odds ratio=8) and stress (odds ratio=7). Conclusion(s): Internet addiction is a serious issue with huge impacts on mental health. Early intervention therefore is crucial. Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms and their association with quality of sleep and loneliness in the general population during the covid-19 pandemic in India

The impact of mental health due to coronavirus infection caused by SARS-2 COVID-19 is severe. The spread of the virus has been reported not only in India but also in many countries worldwide. The lockdown amid the recent COVID-19 widespread has brought about a change in the way of life in most people. The self-isolation and social distancing measures may result in individuals becoming more anxious, angry, stressed, disturbed and depressed. The aim of our study is to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress and their association with quality of sleep and loneliness in the general population during the Covid 19 pandemic. The study design was a cross-sectional study, and information and data were collected through an online questionnaire using Google forms. A total of 726 participants had completed the online questionnaire from which socio-demographic details, Depression, Anxiety & Stress (DASS 21), Insomnia (ISI) and Loneliness (UCLA) were assessed. The overall prevalence rate of depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia and loneliness was 27%, 24.9%, 12.1, 16.9% and 8.8%, respectively. Age, edu-cation, occupation and living status had a strong association with depression. Concerning anxiety, age, marital status, living status and past history of medical illness were positively correlated. Stress had a strong association with edu-cation. Insomnia was significantly associated with depression, anxiety, stress and loneliness. Anxiety, stress and insomnia had a strong association with loneliness. This study shows that the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population is very high. Since loneliness and insomnia have been shown to be associated with psychological symptoms, screen-ing for and addressing them can help in reducing the psychological impact of COVID-19.