Psychological evaluation of the Iranian population in the era of COVID-19

Abstract

One of the most important issues in the COVID-19 pandemic is the psychological aspects. This study was designed to assess the psychological health of a group of Iranian people during the pandemic. Methods: this was an internet-based questionnaire study using convenience sampling. We used the 12-items-general health questionnaire (GHQ-12), the primary care PTSD screen for DSM-V (PC-PTSD-5), the patient health questionnaire-9, and the general anxiety disorder-7. The participants were asked about personal data, history of SARS-CoV-2, hospitalization due to the infection, isolation, intensive care unit admission, and loss of loved ones due to the infection. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and Chi-square and the t-test were used. Results: 644 individuals with a mean ± SD age of 31.05±0.41 years answered. 146 (22.7%) respondents had a history of psychological difficulties. The most common problem before the pandemic was depression (66 participants (10.2%)). During the pandemic, 173 individuals (26.9%) sought psychological consult. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of qualitative GHQ scores (above and below 3). The prevalence of moderate to severe depression was 25% (26.3% among the group without a history of SARS-CoV-2 and 24.6% in the other group; p=0.708). The prevalence of PTSD in was 33.3%. There was no significant difference between the two groups. There were 74 respondents (69.2%) with GAD-7 scores between 0-9. In the group with a history of SARS-CoV-2, 54 people (74%) had moderate to severe anxiety.