Rahman Mamunur, Biswas Sushmita, Kabir Nafisa Humayera, Lee Ka Yiu, Hasan Md Kamrul
Department of Pharmacy, East West University, Aftabnagar, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh.
Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre, Department of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden University, 83125, Östersund, Sweden.
Discov Ment Health. 2025 Apr 18;5(1):57. doi: 10.1007/s44192-025-00185-7.
Depression, anxiety, and stress have surged worldwide, including in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess the mental health condition of the Bangladeshi population during this pandemic. A cross-sectional study was carried out online between Feb 17, 2021, and Apr 8, 2021, during the lockdown period in Bangladesh with structured questions of the DASS-21 (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21), and about 310 responses were collected for the study purpose. One-way ANOVA and statistical analysis were performed by STATA-13 to determine the statistical significance. Depression was found to be significantly associated (p < 0.05) with both level of education (higher level observed among postgraduates) and previous psychological intervention (higher rate of being exposed to psychiatrists earlier). Comparing normal, mild, moderate and severe levels, the most common level of depression was moderate (28.06%) among the respondents, along with highly severe anxiety (22.26%) and moderate stress (18.39%). Participant's living area was significantly associated with depression (p = 0.033) and anxiety (p = 0.014), with individuals residing in urban areas exhibiting higher rates. Despite their adverse mental health status during the pandemic, only 36 out of 310 (12%) participants visited psychologists or psychiatrists. There remains substantial stigma around seeking formal mental health treatment in Bangladesh, such as low compliance rates even for talk therapy. Government organizations and NGOs should raise awareness among the public by conducting community-level campaigns, offering state-level insurance, initiating peer support programs, and using digital space to familiarize people with mental health issues.
抑郁症、焦虑症和压力在全球范围内激增,包括在新冠疫情期间的孟加拉国。本研究旨在评估疫情期间孟加拉国人口的心理健康状况。2021年2月17日至2021年4月8日在孟加拉国封锁期间,通过在线方式开展了一项横断面研究,使用DASS - 21(抑郁焦虑压力量表 - 21)的结构化问题,为研究目的收集了约310份回复。采用STATA - 13进行单因素方差分析和统计分析以确定统计学意义。发现抑郁症与教育水平(研究生中观察到的较高水平)和先前的心理干预(更早接触精神科医生的比例更高)均显著相关(p < 0.05)。比较正常、轻度、中度和重度水平,受访者中最常见的抑郁水平是中度(28.06%),同时伴有高度严重焦虑(22.26%)和中度压力(18.39%)。参与者的居住地区与抑郁症(p = 0.033)和焦虑症(p = 0.014)显著相关,居住在城市地区的个体发生率更高。尽管在疫情期间他们的心理健康状况不佳,但在310名参与者中只有36人(12%)咨询了心理学家或精神科医生。在孟加拉国,寻求正规心理健康治疗仍然存在很大的污名化现象,比如即使是谈话治疗的依从率也很低。政府组织和非政府组织应通过开展社区层面的活动、提供国家层面的保险、启动同伴支持项目以及利用数字空间让人们熟悉心理健康问题等方式,提高公众意识。