INVESTIGATION OF COVID-19 ANXIETY LEVELS OF PHYSICIANS

Sedat Özbay; Mustafa Ayan

doi:10.7197/cmj.1291307

EN

INVESTIGATION OF COVID-19 ANXIETY LEVELS OF PHYSICIANS

Abstract

Background:The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale is a self-reported scanning tool used to detect dysfunctional anxiety about the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, our aim was to determine the anxiety levels of members of the Medical Chamber of the Sivas and Erzincan provinces of Turkey during the pandemic. Methods:The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale questionnaire was e-mailed to members of the Sivas-Erzincan Medical Chamber. According to the scores obtained from the questionnaire, the participants were divided into two groups: those without anxiety (Group 1) and those with anxiety (Group 2). The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare two independent groups for continuous data, and Pearson’s chi-square test was used for frequency data. A p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:Anxiety was present in 10.9% of the 337 physicians who participated in the survey. The anxiety rate in women (17.6%) was statistically significantly higher than that of men (7.9%) (p<0.05). We did not detect any association between marital status or having children and anxiety (p>0.05). There was also no statistically significant difference between the education levels of physicians (job titles) and their anxiety rates. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately one-tenth of our member physicians experienced anxiety. Anxiety rates were higher in women and those who received psychiatric support during the pandemic.

Keywords

References

References 1. Saladino V, Algeri D, Auriemma V.The Psychological and Social Impact of Covid-19: New Perspectives of Well-Being. Front Psychol, 2020. 11:577-684.
2.WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard, Available from: https://covid19.who.int/. (Accessed 15.11.2022).
3. WHO. COVID-19 pandemic triggers 25% increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression Worldwide, Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19- pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide. (Accessed 19.07.2022).
4. Biçer İ, Çakmak C, Demir H, Kurt ME.Koronavirüs Anksiyete Ölçeği Kısa Formu: Türkçe Geçerlik ve Güvenirlik Çalışması. Anadolu Kliniği Tıp Bilimleri Dergisi, 2020;25(1):216-225.
5. Lai J, MaS, WangY, Cai Z, HuJ, WeiN, et al. Factors Associated With Mental Health Outcomes Among Health Care Workers Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019. JAMA Netw Open, 2020;3(3);e203976.
6 Perez-Cano HJ, Moreno-Murguia MB, Morales-Lopez O, Crow-Buchanan O, English JA, Lozano- Alcazar J, et al. Anxiety, depression, and stress in response to the coronavirus disease-19 pandemic. Cir Cir, 2020;88(5):562-568.
7. Guillen-Astete C, Penedo-AlonsoR, Gallego-RodriguezP, Carballo-CardonaC, Estevez-RuedaMJ, Galli-CambiasoE, et al. Levels of anxiety and depression among emergency physicians in Madrid during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Emergencias, 2020;32(5):369-371.
8. Mehta S, Machado F, Kwizera A, Papazian L, Moss M, Azoulay E. et al., COVID-19: a heavy toll on health-care workers. Lancet Respir Med, 2021;9(3):226-228.

9. Lee SA. Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: A brief mental health screener for COVID-19 related anxiety. Death Stud, 2020;44(7):393-401.
10. Dahan M, RouzierR, Normandin T, Marx G, Hequet D. Anxiety and depressive disorders in patients during the Covid-19 pandemic. Bull Cancer, 2020;107(10):1079-1080.
11.Evren C, Evren B, Dalbudak E, Topcu M, Kutlu N. Measuring anxiety related to COVID-19: A Turkish validation study of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale. Death Studies 2022; 46(5):1052-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2020.1774969
12.Üstüntaş O. Evaluation of the Covid-19 Anxiety of our hospital emergency service employees. Available from: https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/tezSorguSonucYeni.jsp. (Accesed: 28.11.2022).
13.Srivastava A, Bala R, Srivastava AK., Mishra A, Shamim R, Sinha P. Anxiety, obsession and fear from coronavirus in Indian population: a web-based study using COVID-19 specific scales. Int J ommunity Med Public Health 2020;7 (11):4570. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20204763
14. Chen JH, Tong KK, Su X, Yu EW, Wu AMS. Measuring COVID-19 related anxiety and obsession: Validation of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale and the Obsession with COVID-19 Scale in aprobability Chinese sample. Journal of Affective Disorders 2021;295:1131–1137
15.Choi EPH, Hui BPH, Wan EYF. Depression and anxiety in Hong Kong during COVID-19. Int J Environ. Res Public Health 2020;17 (10): 3740. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/ijerph17103740
16.Deng J, Zhou F, Hou W, Silver Z, Wong CY, Chang O, Drakos A, Zuo QK, Huang E. The prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and sleep disturbance in higher education students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research 2021;301:113863
17.Yurttas B, Poyraz BC, Sut N., Ozdede A, Oztas M, Ugurlu S, Tabak F. Hamuryudan V. Seyahi E. Willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine among patients with rheumatic diseases, healthcare workers and general population in Turkey: a web-based survey. Rheumatol Int. 2021;41 (6): 1105–1114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-021-04841-3.
18.Simegn W, Dagnew B, Yeshaw Y, S Yitayih S, Woldegerima B, Dagne H. Depression, anxiety, stress and their associated factors among Ethiopian University students during an early stage of COVID-19 pandemic: An online-based cross-sectional survey. PLOS ONE 2021; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251670
19. Solomou I, Constantinidou F.Prevalence and Predictors of Anxiety and Depression Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Compliance with Precautionary Measures: Age and Sex Matter. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020;17(14):4924
20. Farrell M, SengelaubDR, Wellman CL.Sex differences and chronic stress effects on the neural circuitry underlying fear conditioning and extinction. Physiol Behav, 2013;122:208-15.
21. Lebron-Milad K, Milad MR. Sex differences, gonadal hormones and the fear extinction network: implications for anxiety disorders. Biol Mood Anxiety Disord, 2012;2:3. doi: 10.1186/2045-5380-2-3
22. Uz B, Savasan E, Soganci D. Anxiety, Depression and Burnout Levels of Turkish Healthcare Workers at the End of the First Period of COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci, 2022;20(1):97-108.
23. Gomez-Salgado J, Allande-Cusso R, Rodríguez-Domínguez C, Domínguez-Salas S, Camacho-Martín S, Ruiz AR, Ruiz-Frutos C. Development and criterion validity of the COVID-19 anxiety and fear assessment scale: a cross sectional study. Science Progress 2021;104(4): 1–15. DOI: 10.1177/00368504211050291
24.Feng S, Zhang Q, Ho SMY. Fear and anxiety about COVID-19 among local and overseas Chinese university students. Health Soc Care Community 2021;29:e249–e258.
25.Mattilaa E, Peltokoskib J, Nevac MH, Kaunonena M, Helminene M, Parkkilaa AK. COVID-19: anxiety among hospital staff and associated factors. Ann Med 2021;53(1): 237–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2020.1862905
26. Jaber MJ, AlBashaireh AM, AlShatarat MH, Alqudah OM, Du Preez SE, AlGhamdi KS, et al. Stress, Depression, Anxiety, and Burnout among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Study in a Tertiary Centre. Open Nurs J. 2022;16: e187443462203140
27. Sahin MK, Aker S, Sahin G, Karabekiroglu A.Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety, Distress and Insomnia and Related Factors in Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey. J Community Health. 2020;45(6)1168-1177.
28. Yildirim TT, Atas O, Asafov A, Yildirim K, Balibey H.Psychological Status of Healthcare Workers during the Covid-19 Pandemic. J Coll PhysiciansSurg Pak, 2020;30(6):26-31
29. Nwachukwu I, NkireN, Shalaby R, HrabokM, VuongW, GusnowskiA, et al. COVID-19 Pandemic: Age-Related Differences in Measures of Stress, Anxiety and Depression in Canada. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020;17(17):6366
30. Jaguga F, Kwobah EK, Mwangi A, Patel K, Mwogi T, Kiptoo R, et al. Harmful Alcohol Use Among Healthcare Workers at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kenya. Front Psychiatry. 2022; 13: 821610.
31. Conroy DA, Hadler NL, Cho E, Moreira A, MacKenzie C, Swanson LM, et al. The effects of COVID-19 stay-at-home order on sleep, health, and working patterns: a survey study of US health care workers. J Clin Sleep Med, 2021;17(2):185-191.
32. Warren AM, Bennett M, Danesh V. Waddimba A, Tovar M, Gottlieb RL, et al. Early psychological health outcomes among United States healthcare professionals, essentialworkers, and the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: The influence of occupational status. Psychiatry Res Commun, 2021;1(2):100005.50
33. Wozniak H. Benzakour L, Moullec G, Buetti N, Nguyen A, Corbaz S, et al.Mental health outcomes of ICU and non-ICU healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study. Ann Intensive Care, 2021;11(1);106.
34.Motahedi S. Aghdam NF, Khajeh M, Baha R, Aliyari R, Bagheri H, et al. Anxiety and depression among healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Heliyon, 2021;7(12);e08570.
35. Fjermestad, KW, Orm S, Silverman WK, Cogo-Moreira H.Short report: COVID-19-related anxiety is associated with mental health problems among adults with rare disorders. Res Dev Disabil. 2022;123:104181.
36. Pouralizadeh M, Bostani Z, Maroufizadeh S, Ghanbari A, Khoshbakht M, Alavi SA, et al. Anxiety and depression and the related factors in nurses of Guilan University of Medical Sciences hospitals during COVID-19: A web-based cross-sectional study. Int J Afr Nurs Sci. 2020;13:100233.
37.Ding X, Yao J. Peer education intervention on adolescents’ anxiety, Depression, and sleep disorder during The covıd-19 pandemic. Psychiatria Danubina, 2020;32(3-4):527-535 https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2020.527 38. Meo SA, Alkhalifah JM, Alshammari NF, Alnufaie WS. Comparison of Generalized Anxiety and Sleep Disturbance among Frontline and Second-Line Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021;18(11):5727.