Bashir Thelma Farasat, Hassan Sobia, Maqsood Afsheen, Khan Zafar Ali, Issrani Rakhi, Ahmed Naseer, Bashir Evangel Faraz
Department of Community Dentistry, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi, Pakistan.
Department of Pathology, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi, Pakistan.
Eur J Dent. 2020 Dec;14(S 01):S91-S96. doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1721653. Epub 2020 Dec 26.
To evaluate the anxiety and depression amid novel coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic in health sciences students around the globe.
This cross-sectional observational study comprised 523 health science students. A well-structured online questionnaire consisting of closed-ended questions based on student's general information, Patient Heath Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7 scales were used to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19.
SPSS-25 was used to analyze the outcome of this study. Multiple linear regression analysis test was used to assess variables which had impact on PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores among the participants. A -value of ≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
Among the 523 participants, 365 (69.55%) students were from developing countries and 158 (30.21%) from developed countries; 424 (81.1%) students were tested negative for COVID-19 and 99 (18.9%) had suffered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection during pandemic. The mean GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores were 7.16 ± 5.755 and 7.30 ± 6.166, respectively. Significant impact on anxiety levels was associated with age, gender, education status, and COVID-19 positive patient, while depression was not significantly associated with gender, COVID-19, and its reported symptoms in participants.
As the world is trying to contain the health effects of COVID-19, the psychological effects might take a longer time to be addressed. Our study highlights the dire need to identify mental well-being of health science students as this may have a direct impact on their professional commitments and future responsibilities.
评估全球健康科学专业学生在新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行期间的焦虑和抑郁情况。
这项横断面观察性研究纳入了523名健康科学专业学生。使用一份结构完善的在线问卷，其中包含基于学生一般信息、患者健康问卷（PHQ）-9和广泛性焦虑障碍（GAD）-7量表的封闭式问题，以评估COVID-19的心理影响。
使用SPSS-25分析本研究结果。采用多元线性回归分析测试来评估对参与者中PHQ-9和GAD-7得分有影响的变量。P值≤0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
在523名参与者中，365名（69.55%）学生来自发展中国家，158名（30.21%）来自发达国家；424名（81.1%）学生COVID-19检测呈阴性，99名（18.9%）在大流行期间感染了严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2。GAD-7和PHQ-9的平均得分分别为7.16±5.755和7.30±6.166。焦虑水平受到年龄、性别、教育程度和COVID-19阳性患者的显著影响，而抑郁与参与者的性别、COVID-19及其报告症状无显著关联。
在世界努力控制COVID-19对健康的影响时，其心理影响可能需要更长时间才能得到解决。我们的研究强调迫切需要确定健康科学专业学生的心理健康状况，因为这可能直接影响他们的专业承诺和未来责任。
