Anxiety and depressive symptoms among COVID-19 patients admitted to three isolation facilities in Bangladesh

• Main Authors: Md Hafizur Rahman, Goutom Banik, Anisuddin Ahmed, Shams El Arifeen, Aniqa Tasnim Hossain, Md Aminul Hasan, Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2021-12-01
• Series: Health Psychology Open
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/20551029211046106

The COVID-19 pandemic can impose a profound impact on the mental health of hospitalised patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, there have been no studies that explored the psychological distress of the COVID-19 inpatients in Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms and explore the associated factors among inpatients with COVID-19. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 138 COVID-19 patients admitted to three isolation facilities in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from September to October 2020. Participants’ sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained. Mental health symptoms were evaluated with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were performed to analyse the data. The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms were 57.2% (95% CI: 48.2–65.2) and 52.2% (95% CI: 43.8–62.7), respectively. Presence of comorbidity (aOR: 5.64, 95% CI: 2.21–14.35) and having ≥3 COVID-19 physical symptoms (aOR: 6.90, 95% CI: 2.71–17.56) were associated with anxiety symptoms. Besides, presence of comorbidity (aOR: 2.73, 95% CI: 1.07–6.99), having ≥3 COVID-19 physical symptoms (aOR: 4.46, 95% CI: 1.78–11.20) and patient with ≤93% oxygen saturation (aOR: 2.33, 95% CI: 1.01–5.36) were associated with depressive symptoms. Considerable numbers of COVID-19 patients in Bangladesh experienced psychological distress during hospitalisation, requiring more attention and timely mental health interventions.