Psychological distress during pandemic Covid-19 among adult general population: Result across 13 countries

• Main Authors: Ahmad, A. (Author), Aye, S.S (Author), Bahari, R. (Author), El-Abasiri, R.A (Author), Irasanti, S.N (Author), Ismail, R. (Author), Ismail, Z. (Author), Kucuk Bicer, B. (Author), Lekamwasam, S. (Author), Lotfizadeh, M. (Author), Marzo, R.R (Author), Mehnaz, S. (Author), Mong, P. (Author), Mukti, R.F (Author), Nikmat, A. (Author), Nu Htay, M.N (Author), Respati, T. (Author), Sartika, D. (Author), Singh, A. (Author), Songwathana, K. (Author), Su, T.T (Author), Taheri Mirani, S.Z (Author), Thapa, B.B (Author), Villanueva, E.Q., III (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V. 2021
• Series: Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health
• Subjects: adult; Article; Bangladesh; controlled study; coping behavior; Coronavirus; coronavirus disease 2019; COVID-19; COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI); cross-sectional study; data analysis software; Distress; educational status; Egypt; female; health survey; human; India; Indonesia; Iran; major clinical study; Malaysia; male; mental health; Mental health; mental stress; Myanmar; Nepal; pandemic; Pandemic; peritraumatic distress index; Philippines; population; prevalence; priority journal; Psychological distress; psychological rating scale; sex difference; social support; Sri Lanka; structured questionnaire; Thailand; Turkey (republic); Viet Nam
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 The COVID-19 pandemics caused an unprecedented mortality, distress, and globally poses a challenge to mental resilience. To our knowledge, this is the first study that aimed to investigate the psychological distress among the adult general population across 13 countries. This cross-sectional study was conducted through online survey by recruiting 7091 respondents. Psychological distress was evaluated with COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI). The crude prevalence of psychological distress due to COVID-19 is highest in Vietnam, followed by Egypt, and Bangladesh. Through Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis, the respondents from Vietnam holds the highest level of distress, while the respondents from Sri Lanka holds the lowest level of distress with reference to Nepal.Female respondents had higher odds of having reported psychological distress, and those with tertiary education were less likely to report psychological distress compared to those with lower level of education. The findings indicate that psychological distress is varies across different countries. Therefore, different countries should continue the surveillance on psychological consequences through the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor the burden and to prepare for the targeted mental health support interventions according to the need. The coping strategies and social support should be provided especially to the lower educational attainment group. © 2021 The Author(s)