مقاله انگلیسی کووید-19 و افسردگی: شیوع و عوامل خطر در جوانان
Abstract
Methodology
Maharashtra
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Declarations
References
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown have been a seismic shock for youth in India, elevating their risk of mental health problems like depression. This cross-sectional study sought to measure the point prevalence levels of depression in university students (ages 19–25 years) from Maharashtra, India, during the peak of the frst wave of the pandemic and lockdown, through an online opt-in survey. The BDI-II was self-administered by 783 respondents (males=243; females=540). Results indicated overall mild levels of depression (mean BDI=16.48) and high point prevalence, with 51.8% (n=406) of the population being symptomatic, of which 16.3% had severe, 17.9% had moderate, and 17.8% had mild levels of depression. No association was found with age, gender, educational level of participants, period of hostel stay, education, and occupational level of parents. Overall percentages of symptomatic women were higher, suggesting the gendered efects of the pandemic. This study explored the symptomatology of depression wherein “sadness,” “changes in sleep patterns,” and “concentration difculties” emerged as the most commonly experienced symptoms. Symptom expression was found to vary with intensity and gender. Symptomatic men experienced signifcantly more cognitive symptoms like self-criticalness, punishment feelings, thoughts about past failures, and changes in sleep patterns, while symptomatic women felt signifcantly high “loss of energy.” No signifcant gender diferences were seen in the experience of cognitive-afective symptoms. Possible reasons are discussed. Further exploration of the experiences of youth is essential to understand the full gamut of the pandemic’s impact on them.et al., 2014), and has been declared a priority mental health disorder by the World Health Organization (WHO). Depression occurring during this life stage is associated with various physiological and psychological comorbidities (irritable bowel syndrome, pain, cancers, osteoporosis, substance abuse, anxiety, truancy, risk-taking behaviors, self-harm) that have a ripple efect on several important biopsychosocial aspects of the growing adolescent’s life. In India, depression is the leading non-fatal disease burden on youth and the primary disruptor of their development, education, and growth. It is the primary source of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), contributing to challenging economic consequences for self and family (Arvind et al., 2019; Sagar et al., 2020).