Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan 00936, Puerto Rico.
Center for Collaborative Research in Health Disparities, San Juan 00936, Puerto Rico.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 May 23;20(11):5922. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20115922.
Residents of Puerto Rico bear a significant burden of mental health disorders, which the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated. However, age-specific data on these disorders during the pandemic in Puerto Rico are scarce. This study evaluated age-related differences in the self-reported diagnosis of depression and anxiety among adults ≥18 years residing in Puerto Rico during the pandemic. An anonymous online survey was administered from December 2020 to February 2021 via Google Forms to measure self-reported sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics and physician-diagnosed mental health disorders. Multivariable logistic regression models were conducted for each self-reported mental health diagnosis after adjusting for sex, education, income, marital status, chronic diseases, and smoking. Out of 1945 adults, 50% were aged 40 years and over. Nearly 24% of responders self-reported an anxiety diagnosis, whereas 15.9% reported depression. Compared to individuals 50 years and over, those 18-29 y, 30-39 y, and 40-49 y had significantly higher odds of an anxiety diagnosis (OR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.34-2.55; OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.09-2.07; and OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.01-1.87, respectively). However, no association between age and depression diagnosis was found. Despite anxiety and depression being frequent disorders during the pandemic in this sample, younger adults bear a higher burden of anxiety. Further research is needed to allocate appropriate mental health resources during emergencies according to population subgroups.
波多黎各居民承受着严重的心理健康障碍负担,而 COVID-19 大流行可能使这种负担恶化。然而,关于波多黎各大流行期间这些疾病的特定年龄数据却很少。本研究评估了波多黎各成年居民在大流行期间自我报告的抑郁和焦虑诊断的年龄相关差异。从 2020 年 12 月至 2021 年 2 月,通过 Google 表单进行了一项匿名在线调查,以衡量自我报告的社会人口统计学和行为特征以及医生诊断的心理健康障碍。在调整性别、教育、收入、婚姻状况、慢性疾病和吸烟状况后,对每种自我报告的心理健康诊断进行多变量逻辑回归模型分析。在 1945 名成年人中,有 50%的年龄在 40 岁及以上。近 24%的应答者自我报告患有焦虑症,而 15.9%的人报告患有抑郁症。与 50 岁及以上的个体相比,18-29 岁、30-39 岁和 40-49 岁的个体患有焦虑症的几率显著更高(OR=1.84,95%CI=1.34-2.55;OR=1.50,95%CI=1.09-2.07;OR=1.37,95%CI=1.01-1.87)。然而,年龄与抑郁症诊断之间没有关联。尽管在本样本中,焦虑症和抑郁症是大流行期间常见的疾病,但年轻成年人的焦虑负担更高。需要进一步研究,以便根据人口亚组在紧急情况下分配适当的心理健康资源。