The prevalence of Corona anxiety and its related demographic factors in Mashhad city

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Psychology, School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

2 Department of Psychology, School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

Abstract

The prevalence of Corona disease (COVID-19) is on the rise around the world, and the unknown nature of this disease exacerbates people's anxiety about it. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of corona anxiety and its related demographic factors in the general population of Mashhad city in the spring of 2020. The method of this research is descriptive and of survey type. The population of this study included all citizens of Mashhad in the spring of 2020. 517 people were selected for the study through convenience sampling via social networks. The participants answered the online questionnaires of demographic characteristics and Corona disease anxiety scale (CDAS). The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests such as frequency, frequency percentage, Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis based on cut-off point of CDAS by SPSS software, Ver. 25. The results showed that the prevalence of corona anxiety among the citizens of Mashhad is 28.82%. Corona anxiety rate in men and women was 31.17% and 24.87%, respectively. Women significantly had more corona anxiety than men (p = 0.001). The prevalence of corona anxiety was not significantly related to marital status (p = 0.13). Corona anxiety was more common in people with high school diploma or lower education (p = 0.001) and there was no significant difference among different ages in terms of corona anxiety prevalence (p = 0.25). The results of the present study show that about one third of the citizens of Mashhad have corona anxiety and this rate is higher in women and people with lower education. The results of this study indicate the need for effective strategies to deal with the increasing prevalence of corona anxiety and its consequences

Keywords

References

Alipour, A., Ghadami, A., Alipour, Z., Abdollahzadeh, H. (2020). Preliminary Validation of the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS) in the Iranian Sample. Quarterly Journal of Health Psychology, 4(32), 163-175. doi: 10.30473/hpj.2020.52023.4756.
Alizade F. S., & Saffarinia, M. (2020). The prediction of mental health based on the anxiety and the social cohesion that caused by Coronavirus. Social Psychology Research. 36(4), 129-140.
Alizade, Z., Rejali, M., Feizi, A., Afshar, H., Hassanzade Kashtali, A., Adibi, P. (2015). Investigation of psychological disorders profile (anxiety, depression and psychological distress) in adult population of Isfahan province. Journal of Tanin Salamat (Health Chimes). 3(4), 42-48.
Asmundson, G.J., Taylor, S. (2020). How health anxiety influences responses to viral outbreaks like COVID-19: What all decision-makers, health authorities, and health care professionals need to know. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 71, 1011-1022. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102211.
Bajema, K.L., Oster, A.M., McGovern, O.L. (2020). Persons Evaluated for 2019 Novel Coronavirus—United States. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub, 7. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6906-1.
Baptista, C.A., Loureiro, S.R., De Lima Osório, F., Zuardi, A.W., Magalhães, P.V., Kapczinski, F., et al. (2015). Social phobia in Brazilian university students: prevalence, under-recognition and academic impairment in women. Journal of Affective Disorders, 136(3), 857–61. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2011.09.022.
Bastola, A., Sah, R., Rodriguez-Morales, A.J., Lal, B.K., Jha, R., & Ojha, H.C. (2020). The first 2019 novel coronavirus case in Nepal. Lancet Infect Disorders, 20, 279–280. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30067-0.
Beard, C., Amir, N. (2014). Negative Interpretation Bias Mediates the Effect of Social Anxiety on State Anxiety. Cognitive Therapy Research, 34(3), 292–296. doi: 10.1007/s10608-009-9258-6.
Cao, W., Fang, Z., Hou, G., Han, M., Xu, X., Dong, J., Zheng, J. (2020). The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiatry Research, 112934. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112934.
Casagrande, M., Favieri, F., Tambelli, R., Forte, G. (2020). The enemy who sealed the world: Effects quarantine due to the COVID-19 on sleep quality, anxiety, and psychological distress in the Italian population. Sleep Medicine. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2020.05.011.
Courtet, P., Olié, E., Debien, C., Vaiva, G. (2020). Keep socially (but not physically) connected and carry on: Preventing suicide in the age of COVID-19. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 81, 2013370. doi: 10.4088/JCP.20com13370
De Saintonge, D.M., Dunn, D.M. (2015). Gender and achievement in clinical medical students: a path analysis. Medical Education, 35(11), 1024–1033. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2001.01043.x.
Dong, X., Wang, L., Tao, Y., Suo, X., Li, Y., Liu, F., Zhao, Y., Zhang, Q. (2017). Psychometric properties of the Anxiety Inventory for Respiratory Disease in patients with COPD in China. International Journal of Chronic Obstruction Pulmon Disorders, 12, 49-58. doi: 10.2147/COPD.S117626.
Fischhoff, B. (2020). Speaking of Psychology: Coronavirus Anxiety. In: https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology /coronavirus-anxiety. 2020.
Huang, Y., Zhao, N. (2020). Generalized anxiety disorder, depressive symptoms and sleep quality during COVID-19 outbreak in China: a web-based cross-sectional survey. Psychiatry Research. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112954.
Jernigan, J.A., Low, D.E., Helfand, R.F. (2004). Combining Clinical and Epidemiologic Features for Early Recognition of SARS. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 10(2), 327-333. doi: 10.3201/eid1002.030741.
Kessler, R.C., Birnbaum, H., Bromet, E., Hwang, I., Sampson, N., Shahly, V. (2013). Age differences in major depression: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Psychological Medicine. 12(2), 225- 235. doi: 10.1017/S0033291709990213.
Lau, S.K., Lee, P., Tsang, A.K., Yip, C. C. Y., Tse, H., Lee, R.A., So, L. Y., Lau, Y.L., Chan, K.H. Woo,1 P. C. Y.,2 & Yuen, K.Y. (2011). Molecular epidemiology of human coronavirus OC43 reveals evolution of different genotypes over time and recent emergence of a novel genotype due to natural recombination. Journal of Virology, 85, 1325–1337. doi: 10.1128/JVI.05512-11.
Lima, C.K.T., Carvalho, P.M.M., Lima, I., Nunes, J., Saraiva, J.S., de Souza, R.I., et al. (2020). The emotional impact of Coronavirus 2019-nCoV (new Coronavirus disease). Psychiatry Research, 287, 112915. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112915.
Menec, V.H., Chipperfield, J.G., Perry, R.P. (2012). Self-perceptions of health: a prospective analysis of mortality, control, and health. The journals of gerontology. Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 54, 85–93. doi: 10.1093/geronb/54B.2.P85.
Moghanibashi- Mansourieh, A. (2020). Assessing the anxiety level of Iranian general population during COVID-19 outbreak. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 102076. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102076.
Mohammadim, M.R., Alavi, A., Mahmoodi, J., Shahrivar, Z., Tehranidoost, M., Saadat, S. (2018). Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders amongst Adolescents in Tehran. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry, 3(3), 100-104.
Pappa, S., Ntella, V., Giannakas, T., Giannakoulis, V.G., Papoutsi, E., Katsaounou, P. (2020). Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.05.026.
Reger, M.A., Stanley, I.H., Joiner, T.E. (2020). Suicide mortality and coronavirus disease 2019- A perfect storm? JAMA Psychiatry. Published online April 10, 2020. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.1060.
Rubin, G.J., Wessely, S. (2020). The psychological effects of quarantining a city. BMJ (Clinical research Ed.). 368, m313. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m313.
Ruscio, A.M., Brown, T.A., Chiu, W.T., Sareen, J., Stein, M.B., Kessler, R.C. (2018). Social fears and social phobia in the USA: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Psychol Med. 38: 15 – 28. doi: 10.1017/S0033291707001699.
SA, R.R.K. (2020). Brief review of coronavirus for healthcare professionals February 10, 2020. Southeast Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care, 20(2), 69-70. doi: 10.13175/swjpcc011-20.
Schwartz, R.M., Rasul, R., Gargano, L.M., Lieberman‐Cribbin, W., Brackbill, RM., Taioli, E. (2019). Examining associations between Hurricane Sandy exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder by community of residence. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 32, 677-687. doi: 10.1002/jts.22445.
Scott, K., Von Korff, M., Alonso, J., Angermeyer, M., Bromet, E., Bruffaerts, R., et al. (2014).  Age patterns in the prevalence of DSM-IV depressive/anxiety disorders with and without physical co-morbidity. Psychological Medicine, 38(11), 1659-1669. doi: 10.1017/S0033291708003413.
Tang, T.L., Ibrahim, A.H., West, W.B. (2012). Effects of war-related stress on the satisfaction of human needs: The United States and the Middle East. International Journal of Management Theory and Practices, 3(1), 35–53.
To, K.K.W., Tsang, O.T.Y., Yip, C.C.Y. (2020). Consistent detection of 2019 novel coronavirus in saliva. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 149(12). doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa149.
Van Ameringen, M., Mancini, C., Farvolden, P. (2013). The impact of anxiety disorders on educational achievement. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 17(5), 561-571. doi: 10.1016/S0887-6185(02)00228-1.
Voitsidis, P., Gliatas, I., Bairachtari, V., Papadopoulos, K., Papa Georgiou, G., Parlapani, E., Syngelakis, M., Holeva, V., Diakogiannis, I. (2020). Insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Greek population. Psychiatry Research. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113076.
Wallas, K. (2016). Risk factors identified in college students exhibiting social phobia. Psychology Ph.D. Degree, College of Sciences and in the Burnett Honors College. Orlando, Florida: University of Central Florida.
Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, C.S., Ho, R.C. (2020). Immediate psychological responses and associated factors during the initial stage of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic among the general population in china. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5), 1729. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17051729.
World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation report–34. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. https://www. who.int /docs/default-source/ coronavirus /situation-reports/20200223-sitrep-34-covid-19. 2020. Pdf? sfvrsn= 44ff8fd3 _ 2pdf icon
World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation report–34. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. 2020. https://www. who.int /docs/default-source/ coronaviruse /situation-reports/20200223-sitrep-34-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn= 44ff8fd3 _ 2pdf icon.
World Health Organization. Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) situation report – 15(4), https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/ coronavirus/situation-reports/20200204-Sitrep 15 ncov.pdf? Sfvrsn =88fe8ad6_2 (accessed Feb 4, 2020).
Wu, Z., & McGoogan, J.M. (2020). Characteristics of and Important Lessons from the coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in China: Summary of a Report of 72 314 Cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention external icon. JAMA. Published online. February 24. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.2648.
Xiaoyun, C., & Fenglan, L. (2020). The relationships among insecure attachment, social support and psychological experiences in family caregivers of cancer inpatients. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 44, 101691. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2019.101691.
Zandifar, A., Badrfam, R. (2020). Iranian mental health during the COVID-19 epidemic. Asian Journal of Psychiatry,51,101990.doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.101990.
Zhang, F., Shang, Z., Ma, H., Jia, Y., Sun, L., Guo, X., et al. (2020). High risk of infection caused posttraumatic stress symptoms in individuals with poor sleep quality: A study on influence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China. MedRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2020.03.22.20034504
Zhu, N., Zhang, D., Wang, W., Li, X., Yang, B., & Song, J. (2020). A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China. North England Journal of Medicine, 382, 727–733. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017.
Zhu, N., Zhang, D., Wang, W., Xinwang, L., Yang, M.S., Song, J., Zhao, X., et al. (2020). A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China. N Engl J Med. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017.
Journal of Research in Psychopathology
Volume 1, Issue 2
October 2020
Pages 11-18

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics