Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Immunology Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Centre, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
PLoS One. 2021 Apr 26;16(4):e0250554. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250554. eCollection 2021.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection has become a clinical threat to healthy people as well as immunocompromised patients and those with pre-existing chronic diseases around the world. This study, which used a cross-sectional correlational design, aimed to assess the levels of fear and health anxiety and to investigate their predictors during the current outbreak of COVID-19 in immunocompromised and chronic disease patients in Saudi Arabia. Sociodemographic and clinical data, fear of COVID-19, and health anxiety measurements were collected by online surveys from June 15 to July 15, 2020. Univariate and multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify predictors. A total of 1,030 patients in 13 provinces in Saudi Arabia completed the questionnaire. A significant number of patients with chronic diseases experienced considerable levels of fear and anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak. It was found that 21.44% of participants met the criteria for anxiety cases, and 19.4% were considered borderline anxiety cases. In regression analysis, significant predictors of fear and health anxiety were female gender, lower education, middle-aged, divorced or widowed, receiving immunosuppressants, type of chronic disease (Crohn's disease, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases), and media use as a source of knowledge about COVID-19. Immunocompromised and chronic disease patients are vulnerable to fear and anxiety during epidemic infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Optimizing this population's compliance with appropriate infection prevention and control strategies is crucial during the infectious outbreaks to ensure their safety, to decrease the risk of infection and serious complications, and reduce their fear and health anxiety. Effective positive psychological interventions and support strategies also need to be immediately implemented to increase psychological resilience and improve the mental health of these patients. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, chronic disease patients in Saudi Arabia need special attention from health authorities, policymakers, and healthcare professionals to manage maladaptive forms of health anxiety and fear.
新型冠状病毒病 2019（COVID-19）感染已成为全球健康人群以及免疫功能低下患者和患有先前存在的慢性疾病患者的临床威胁。本研究采用横断面相关性设计，旨在评估在沙特阿拉伯免疫功能低下和患有慢性疾病患者中 COVID-19 爆发期间的恐惧和健康焦虑水平，并调查其预测因素。社会人口统计学和临床数据、对 COVID-19 的恐惧以及健康焦虑测量均通过在线调查于 2020 年 6 月 15 日至 7 月 15 日收集。采用单变量和多元线性回归分析来识别预测因素。沙特阿拉伯 13 个省的 1030 名患者完成了问卷。在 COVID-19 爆发期间，相当数量的慢性疾病患者经历了相当程度的恐惧和焦虑。研究发现，21.44%的参与者符合焦虑症标准，19.4%被认为是边缘性焦虑症。在回归分析中，恐惧和健康焦虑的显著预测因素为女性、较低的教育程度、中年、离异或丧偶、接受免疫抑制剂、慢性疾病类型（克罗恩病、高血压和心血管疾病）以及将媒体用作获取 COVID-19 知识的来源。在 COVID-19 等传染病流行期间，免疫功能低下和慢性疾病患者容易感到恐惧和焦虑。在传染病爆发期间，优化此类人群对适当感染预防和控制策略的依从性至关重要，以确保他们的安全，降低感染和严重并发症的风险，并减轻他们的恐惧和健康焦虑。还需要立即实施有效的积极心理干预和支持策略，以提高这些患者的心理弹性并改善他们的心理健康。由于 COVID-19 爆发，沙特阿拉伯的慢性疾病患者需要卫生当局、政策制定者和医疗保健专业人员的特别关注，以管理适应不良的健康焦虑和恐惧形式。
