Surveying the Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic ABS0140)

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged populations across the globe. The toll taken is unprecedented in the modern age. Aside from this obvious morbidity and mortality, there is an under-appreciated pandemic of mental illness that is sweeping across the world. Mental health issues in health care professionals have long since been identified to be a significant problem. Our experiences during previous similar epidemics have shown that such situations take a huge toll on the physical as well as mental health of personnel affected, either directly by infection or indirectly by the social and economic consequences of the pandemic. The health care worker may find him/herself in a very challenging situation, dealing simultaneously with multiple sources of stress in an ever-changing environment. These manifest in the form of serious mental issues such as depression, anxiety, stress, sleep disturbances, and posttraumatic stress disorder, to name a few. These can have a longlasting impact on the psychological makeup of the victims. We conducted this survey-based study to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety among a wide range of personnel involved in health care, in different settings, working in the front line and nonfront line scenarios. Aims and objectives: To assess the prevalence of developing anxiety and depression among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare the prevalence thereof based on various factors such as occupation, pre-existing health issues, level of work, social background, working directly with infected patients. Materials and methods: Survey-based, prospective, observational cohort study including data collection over 1 month. The online survey was circulated as a Google Form and made available to all healthcare workers pan India. The study included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale along with other personal information, gathered anonymously. The paired t-test and Mann- Whitney U-test were used to determine the statistical significance. Results: The mean age of the population was 39.9 years, with equal distribution among the sexes. 70% of subjects were married and 76% lived with their families. The commonest co-morbidities were hypertension (n = 66), obesity (n = 61), diabetes (n = 37). 60.4% had PG qualifications, 69.3% were treating physicians, and 49.4% were consultants. 90.3% worked in urban settings, 65.5% worked at the tertiary level. 37.4% worked directly with COVID-19 patients. 24.4% of respondents worked in ICU, 14.7% in OPD, 12% in ward settings. Gross prevalence of depression was 43% (mild 22.6%, moderate 11.2%, moderate-severe 5.1%, severe 3.9%). Prevalence of anxiety was 47% (mild 26%, moderate 13%, severe 7%). Depression was commoner among men (p = 0.04), those in a relationship (p = 0.00), those with children (p = 0.00) in older age groups, with higher positions and educational qualifications, and those with co-morbidities (p = 0.0). It was less prevalent in front-line workers, including physicians (p = 0.00). Among the front-line workers, depression and anxiety were more prevalent among physicians (p = 0.01). Depression was commoner in OPD and ED settings (p = 0.00), and less for people getting quarantine period (p = 0.00). Conclusion: Our survey shows a higher than average prevalence of anxiety and depression among health care workers in India as compared to non-pandemic periods. We have also identified groups that are at higher risk for mental health issues .