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Cited by 43COVID-19 and Mental HealthMental Health Treatment and AccessAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

Depression and anxiety in the Malaysian urban population and their association with demographic characteristics, quality of life, and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic

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Leong Bin Abdullah, Mohammad Farris Iman, Ahmad Yusof, Hazwani, Mohd Shariff, Noorsuzana, Hami, Rohayu, Nisman, Noor Farahiya, Law, Kim Sooi·2021·Current Psychology
DOI 10.1007/s12144-021-01492-2PMC PMC7892323
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Abstract

The prevalence of depression and anxiety has been shown to be higher in the urban population compared with the rural population. The present study investigated the prevalence of depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms and their associated factors in a random sample drawn from several urban communities in Malaysia. This study also determined the association between the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms. We recruited 326 participants, who were administered a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire; the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to assess the presence or absence of depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms; and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQoL-BREF) to assess their QoL. The following prevalence values were obtained among the participants: depression symptoms, 23.9%; anxiety symptoms, 41.7%; and depression with comorbid anxiety symptoms, 19.9%. Those assessed after the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic showed increased odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR = 2.99, 95% CI = 1.41-6.35, p = 0.006) and depressive with comorbid anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR = 3.19, 95% CI = 1.37-7.45, p = 0.005), while the presence of comorbid stress increased the odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR = 16.00, 95% CI = 7.84-32.63, p < 0.001), anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR = 19.72, 95% CI = 9.75-39.89, p < 0.001), and depressive with comorbid anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR = 40.44, 95% CI = 15.90-102.87, p < 0.001). Higher psychological QoL reduced the odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.69-0.99, p = 0.032) and depressive with comorbid anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.68-0.98, p = 0.041), whereas higher physical health QoL (adjusted OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.75-0.97, p = 0.021) and social relationship QoL (adjusted OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.55-0.90, p = 0.009) reduced the odds of anxiety symptoms. Based on our findings, we recommended several measures to curb psychological complications among the urban population, particularly as the battle to contain COVID-19 is ongoing.

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  • Higher pre-COVID quality of life acts as a protective factor against anxiety during the pandemic in non-clinical populations.

    “Interestingly, higher levels of pre-COVID QOL acted as a protective factor against anxiety during the pandemic in non-clinical populations [92–94].”

    From Correlates of Quality of Life in Anxiety Disorders: Review of Recent Research (2021) · cites this paper as [92]

    The Predictors of Anxiety section reports that higher physical-health and social-relationship QoL scores were associated with lower odds of anxiety among participants in Malaysian urban communities. But the Data Collection section says QoL and anxiety were assessed together, with participants assessed either before or after the pandemic declaration. The paper therefore does not establish that pre-COVID QoL protected against anxiety during the pandemic. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Leong Bin Abdullah, M. F. I., Ahmad Yusof, H., Mohd Shariff, N., Hami, R., Nisman, N. F., & Law, K. S.
Affiliations
Universiti Sains Malaysia (MY)
ORCID
Venue
Current Psychology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2021-02-19
Volume
40
Issue
12
Pages
6259-6270
ISSN
  • 1046-1310 (ISSN-L)
  • 1936-4733
DOI
10.1007/s12144-021-01492-2
PMC
PMC7892323
OpenAlex
W3107282324
Cited by
43
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 4
FWCI
6.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Current Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Short Term Grant of Universiti Sains Malaysia (304/CIPPT/6315236)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords
depression, anxiety, comorbid depression and anxiety, COVID-19 pandemic, urban population, quality of life, stress, prevalence, sociodemographic factors, Malaysia, DASS-21, WHOQOL-BREF, urban-rural comparison, psychological well-being, mental health risk factors, social isolation, economic hardship

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