Amin Junaid, Siddiqui Ammar Ahmed, Ilyas Muhammad, Amin Salman, Aldaihan Mishal M, Zafar Hamayun
Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Ha'il, Ha'il, 2440, Saudi Arabia.
Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Ha'il, Ha'il, 2440, Saudi Arabia.
J Multidiscip Healthc. 2024 Sep 4;17:4303-4317. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S464037. eCollection 2024.
Prior research has revealed substantial psychological impacts of COVID-19 among the general population. However, there is a noticeable gap in studies addressing the enduring anxiety levels before and during lockdown periods of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study assessed and compared the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic before and during lockdown periods among the general population in Saudi Arabia.
A validated and reliable General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7 instrument was used to quantify stress levels by measuring anxiety. Nonprobability snowball sampling was used to collect data from 516 participants residing in Saudi Arabia. The difference in scores for each of the seven related questions of GAD-7 was determined using a non-parametric Wilcoxon rank test.
A mild level of anxiety was consistently observed both before and during the lockdown, as indicated by GAD-7 scores of 6.17 (SD = 5.5) before the lockdown and 6.42 (SD = 5.7) during the lockdown. There were no differences in GAD-7 scores before 6.17 (SD = 5.5) and during 6.42 (SD = 5.7) the lockdown periods. However, levels of moderate anxiety increased by 5% during the lockdown period. Anxiety levels before and during lockdown were significantly associated with gender (χ2 (3, n = 516) =11.23 p = 0.01) and employment status (χ2 (3, n = 516) = 9.41 p = 0.024). Among the GAD-7 questionnaire items, item number 1 ("Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge") (p= 0.00) and item number 7 ("Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen") (p= 0.025) showed a significant association with anxiety levels before and during the lockdown periods.
The enduring prevalence of mild anxiety, persisting both before and during the lockdown periods, underscores the profound impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of the general population in Saudi Arabia.
先前的研究揭示了新冠疫情对普通人群产生的重大心理影响。然而，在研究新冠疫情封锁期之前和期间持续的焦虑水平方面，存在明显差距。
本研究评估并比较了沙特阿拉伯普通人群在新冠疫情封锁期之前和期间的心理影响。
使用经过验证且可靠的广泛性焦虑障碍（GAD）-7量表，通过测量焦虑来量化压力水平。采用非概率雪球抽样法，从居住在沙特阿拉伯的516名参与者中收集数据。使用非参数威尔科克森秩和检验确定GAD-7七个相关问题各自得分的差异。
GAD-7得分显示，封锁前为6.17（标准差=5.5），封锁期间为6.42（标准差=5.7），表明在封锁前和期间均持续存在轻度焦虑。封锁前6.17（标准差=5.5）和期间6.42（标准差=5.7）的GAD-7得分无差异。然而，中度焦虑水平在封锁期间增加了5%。封锁前和期间的焦虑水平与性别（χ2(3, n = 516)=11.23，p = 0.01）和就业状况（χ2(3, n = 516)=9.41，p = 0.024）显著相关。在GAD-7问卷项目中，第1项（“感到紧张、焦虑或坐立不安”）（p = 0.00）和第7项（“感到害怕，好像有可怕的事情要发生”）（p = 0.025）与封锁前和期间的焦虑水平显著相关。
轻度焦虑在封锁前和期间持续存在，这突出了新冠疫情对沙特阿拉伯普通人群心理健康的深远影响。
