P.661 Psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown in Spanish sample with anxiety disorder: differences according to sex

ABSTRACT

Introduction: We have experienced the effects of an unprecedented pandemic due to the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. This is the causative agent of COVID-19. There are precedents for the imposition of lockdown in previous outbreaks that caused a great psychological impact. Specifically, an increase in the mean post-traumatic stress scores, high depressive symptoms and an increase in completed suicides was reported [1,2]. The severity of the impact on mental health is greater in vulnerable people such as those with a psychiatric history [3,4]. Aims: This study aims 1) to assess the psychological impact on a large sample of participants with an anxiety disorder during the onset of the pandemic and lockdown in Spain;2) to Explore differences in the magnitude of the psychological impact of the people with an anxiety disorder according to the sex. Methods: Secondary analyses of a descriptive and comparative cross-sectional study of the data provided by the participants in an anonymous online survey conducted between March 19 and 26. The ad hoc questionnaire included sociodemographic, clinical data and variables related to COVID-19 as well as questions on coping strategies, and the Spanish versions of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Impact of Event Scale (IES). From the entire sample of 21207 participants, we analyzed 1617 (7.6%) people with an anxiety disorder at that time [mean age = 35.6 (SD = 12.47);women = 1347 (83.3%)]. For the statistical analysis, the sample was divided into two groups according to sex. We used a chi-square test and Student's t test to detect differences among groups. Next, we analyzed the associations between sex and scores on psychometric scales using logistic regression to control for potential confounding factors. Results: Of the individuals with an anxiety disorder, 55.7% were single, 10.2% lived alone and only 2.4% live with family members infected by SARS-CoV-2. 72.8% do not have children in charge, and 89.1% do not have elderly people dependent on them. Comparing the psychological impact between groups, we observed that it is greater in women. We found statistically significant differences in every DASS-21 subscale depression (4.35 ± 1.19 vs 4.10 ± 1.28;T= -3.076, p<0.002), anxiety (3.20 ± 2.14 vs 2.41 ± 2.03;T= -5.625, p< 0.001) and stress (4.60 ± 2.15 vs 3.86 ± 2.49;T= -4.540, p< 0.001);and in intrusive (3.63 ± 2.07 vs 2.83 ± 2.09;T= -5.751, p< 0.001) and avoidance subscales of IES (4.72 ± 1.89 vs 3.80 ± 2.06;T= -6.850, p< 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed a statistically significant association of intrusive thoughts (OR 1.12;IC 95%1.05-1.21, p=0.001), avoidant thoughts (OR 1.19;IC 95%1.01-1.29, p<0.001) and age (OR 0.99;IC 95%0.98-0.99, p=0.004) with being female. Conclusions: Our data indicated that the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown harmed the mental health of people with mental disorders such as anxiety disorders. After considering confounding variables, we observed that women with an anxiety disorder suffer greater negative repercussions such as intrusive and avoidant thoughts compared to men. No conflict of interest