Depression, Anxiety, Perceived Stress and Family Support in COVID-19 Patients

Mahdieh  Hosseini Largani; Fatemeh  Gorgani; Mahsa  Abbaszadeh; Mohammad  Arbabi; Sahar   Karimpour Reyhan; Seyyed Farshad  Allameh; Nazila  Shahmansouri; Samaneh  Parsa

doi:10.18502/ijps.v17i3.9725

Mahdieh Hosseini Largani Department of Internal Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Fatemeh Gorgani Department of Internal Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mahsa Abbaszadeh Department of Internal Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Arbabi Psychosomatic Medicine Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Sahar Karimpour Reyhan Department of Internal Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Seyyed Farshad Allameh Department of Internal Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Nazila Shahmansouri Psychosomatic Medicine Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Samaneh Parsa Department of Internal Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijps.v17i3.9725

Keywords: Anxiety; COVID-19; Depression; Stress; Social Support

Abstract

Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in Iran in February 2020 and then quickly spread to many cities. Different factors contribute to the numerous psychological problems of this pandemic in patients, healthcare workers and the community. This study investigated the prevalence of perceived stress, anxiety and depression in COVID-19 patients hospitalized between March and April 2020 and revealed associations of these factors with social support received from family.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, patients with COVID-19 admitted between 21st of March and 22nd of April 2020 were evaluated by three questionnaires: Anxiety and depression were evaluated using the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), stress levels were evaluated using the four-item perceived stress scale (PSS-4) and family support was evaluated using the perceived social support scale-family (PSS-Fa). In addition to obtaining prevalence of the noted psychological disorders and their relationship with demographic details, relationship of stress, anxiety and depression with family support was also investigated using the Pearson’s correlation coefficient.

Results: Participants comprised 100 COVID-19 patients (38 females and 62 males). Findings suggested high levels of perceived stress in 26% of the participants, anxiety symptoms existed in 29% and borderline conditions existed in 17%. Moreover, depressive and its borderline symptoms were respectively observed in 17% and 23%. Family support was found to negatively and significantly correlated with anxiety (Pearson correlation = -0.249, P < 0.05) and depression. (Pearson correlation = -0.221, P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Given the high prevalence of anxiety and depression in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, it is recommended to further focus on non-clinical interventions, such as providing psychological first aids, boosting psychological resilience, and enabling greater family support, in efforts to prevent transformation of these psychological symptoms into long-term psychological disorders.