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A Survey of Psychological Distress Among the Community in the COVID-19 Epidemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Clinical, Biological and Molecular Aspects of COVID-19

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((PMISB,volume 1321))

Abstract

  • Aim

The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has not only had an impact on physical health but also on psychological health. The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence and severity of psychological distress in the community due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Methods

This cross-sectional survey was conducted in February and March 2020 in Tehran, Iran. We analyzed demographic characteristics and assessed depression, anxiety, and stress levels in 241 people using convenience sampling and the DASS-21 questionnaire. All statistical analyses were performed using R.

  • Results

The study population included 241 community-dwelling participants, of whom 145 were women and 96 were males. The mean age was 49.16 ± 8.01 years. Approximately two-thirds of participants (n = 158) reported no history of comorbid illness. The mean scores of depression and stress were at a “severe” level, while anxiety levels were at an “extremely severe” level. The prevalence of severe and extremely severe depression readings was 51.45 and 38.17%, respectively. In the anxiety subscale, the prevalence of severe and extremely severe depression was 95.90 and 4.1%, and in the stress subscale the prevalence was 48.97 and 4.98%, respectively.

  • Conclusion

In this study, people reported experiencing severe and extremely severe psychological distress. Therefore, there is an urgent need to implement mental health intervention policies to cope with this ongoing challenge. We suggest that the incorporation of molecular biomarker tests into the algorithm could aid in assessment of patients and guide the most appropriate therapeutic response.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to guidance and advice from the Clinical Research Development Unit of Baqiyatallah Hospital.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest with respect to the authorship and publication of this article.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Malihe Sadat Moayed and Amir Vahedian-Azimi contributed equally with all other contributors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Trauma Research Center, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Malihe Sadat Moayed & Amir Vahedian-Azimi

  2. Hearing Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Golshan Mirmomeni

  3. Anesthesia and Critical Care Department, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Farshid Rahimi-Bashar

  4. Internal Medicine, Shariati hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Keivan Goharimoghadam

  5. Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mohamad Amin Pourhoseingholi

  6. Marine Medicine Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mohsen Abbasi-Farajzadeh

  7. Health Management Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mansour Babaei

  8. Academic Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, Hull, UK

    Thozhukat Sathyapalan

  9. Laboratory of Neuroproteomics, Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil

    Paul C. Guest

  10. Biotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

  11. Neurogenic Inflammation Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

  12. Polish Mother’s Memorial Hospital Research Institute (PMMHRI), Lodz, Poland

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

  13. Halal Research Center of IRI, FDA, Tehran, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

Authors
  1. Malihe Sadat Moayed
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  2. Amir Vahedian-Azimi
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  3. Golshan Mirmomeni
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  4. Farshid Rahimi-Bashar
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  5. Keivan Goharimoghadam
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  6. Mohamad Amin Pourhoseingholi
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  7. Mohsen Abbasi-Farajzadeh
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  8. Mansour Babaei
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  9. Thozhukat Sathyapalan
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  10. Paul C. Guest
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  11. Amirhossein Sahebkar
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Amir Vahedian-Azimi or Amirhossein Sahebkar .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Paul C. Guest

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Cite this chapter

Moayed, M.S. et al. (2021). A Survey of Psychological Distress Among the Community in the COVID-19 Epidemic: A Cross-Sectional Study. In: Guest, P.C. (eds) Clinical, Biological and Molecular Aspects of COVID-19. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 1321. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59261-5_22

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