Prevalence of anxiety and depression during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A web-based cross-sectional survey
Open accessAbstract
Today, every continent in the world is affected by the novel coronavirus2019 (COVID-19). Saudi Arabia has also suffered from this highly contagious, socially disruptive, infectious disease. Our aim was to assess the anxiety and depression prevalence and identify the associated risk factors among the general population of Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia, during COVID-19 outbreak. This cross-sectional study was conducted using a web-based survey. A total of 651 participants were recruited who were ≥18 years old and lived in Riyadh city during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected sociodemographic information of the participants and assessed their COVID-19-related knowledge assessment. We used the Arabic versions of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire to assess the status of an individual’s anxiety and depression, respectively. We observed 28.7% and 25.5% prevalence of depression and anxiety among the general population, respectively. Females, younger people (age < 35 years), and unmarried persons showed a significantly higher prevalence of anxiety and depression. Binary logistic regression analysis also revealed that female gender, age younger than 35 years, having history of psychiatric diseases, and spending more than one hour per day on following COVID-19 news were associated with anxiety and depression. Retired participants were less likely to suffer from anxiety or depression during the pandemic. In this study, females, younger people (age < 35 years), and individuals with history of psychiatric patients were identified as vulnerable groups who need support during this crisis. We also recommend that the general public must limit their time of watching and following COVID-19-related news.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable increases in psychological distress across the general population, not only among those directly affected by the virus.
“global reports note considerable increases in psychological distress throughout the general population; not just those directly affected by the virus (Alhalafi, 2020; Chong et al., 2021; Ettman et al., 2020; Gloster, Lamnisos, et al., 2020; Rossi et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020).”
From ACTing towards better living during COVID-19: The effects of Acceptance and Commitment therapy for individuals affected by COVID-19 (2022) · cites this paper as Alhalafi, 2020
The Discussion reports higher prevalence of anxiety and depression in a general-population sample in Riyadh during the pandemic, supporting distress beyond people directly affected by the virus. But this single-city study does not establish an increase across the global general population; its limitations section also says the cross-sectional design makes causal inferences difficult. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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Cites
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Delpino, F. M., da Silva, C. N., Jerônimo, J. S., Mulling, E. S., da Cunha, L. L., Weymar, M. K., Alt, R., Caputo, E. L., & Feter, N. (2022) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.003 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
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“…the SARS epidemic, global reports note considerable increases in psychological distress throughout the general population; not just those directly affected by the virus (Alhalafi, 2020; Chong et al., 2021; Ettman et al., 2020; Gloster, Lamnisos, et al., 2020; Rossi et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020).”
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Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic in Jazan, Saudi Arabia
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Adaptation and validation of the Arabic version of the COVID-19 anxiety scale
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- Authors
- Alhalafi, A. H.
- Affiliations
- University of Bisha (SA)
- Corresponding author
- Alhalafi, Abdullah Hassan
- Venue
- Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International
- Publisher
- Sciencedomain International
- Published
- 2020-11-07
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 27
- Pages
- 65-73
- ISSN
- 2231-2919 (ISSN-L)
- 2456-9119
- OpenAlex
- W3103157197
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 0.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety prevalence, depression prevalence, risk factors, gender differences, age differences, marital status, psychiatric history, news exposure, psychological distress, Riyadh
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