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COVID-19 or threat of a nuclear war in Europe? A cross-sectional study of anxiety levels in adults living in Portugal
BACKGROUND: Since 2019, Europe has experienced ongoing stressors with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian–Ukrainian War, which have had social, financial, physical, and psychological impacts. Studies suggest that anxiety, fear, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2023
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10423817/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37583890 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1159172 |
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author | Prazeres, Filipe Maricoto, Tiago Lima, Inês Sampaio Simões, Pedro Simões, José Augusto |
author_facet | Prazeres, Filipe Maricoto, Tiago Lima, Inês Sampaio Simões, Pedro Simões, José Augusto |
author_sort | Prazeres, Filipe |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND: Since 2019, Europe has experienced ongoing stressors with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian–Ukrainian War, which have had social, financial, physical, and psychological impacts. Studies suggest that anxiety, fear, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other psychological disorders are common in such situations, and there is a need for more research on the impact of the war on mental health in Portugal. The main goal of the present study was to assess the impact of the fear of COVID-19 and anxiety related to nuclear war on the general anxiety levels of adult individuals living in Portugal. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to July 2022 using an online questionnaire built on the Google Forms platform. Portuguese-speaking male and female individuals aged 18 years or older, who provided informed consent and agreed to participate, were included. The outcome variable was defined using the Portuguese version of the GAD-7 scale, while the main predictors were the FCV-19S and the NWA Scale in Portuguese. Linear and logistic regression models were used to test associations between predictors and outcome variable. RESULTS: The study included 1,182 participants, with a mean age of 46.5 (±11.7) years, mostly women (80.6%). The global mean GAD-7 score was 5.8 (±4.5) points, and 17.9% of the participants scored above the 10-point cutoff. Higher scores were found in both the FCV-19S and the NWA scale among participants with anxiety, as measured by both a 10-point cutoff (p < 0.001), and GAD-7 scale mean scores (p < 0.001). The study showed that fear of COVID-19 [OR of 1.133 (95%CI: 1.097–1.170)] and, at a lesser extent, nuclear war anxiety [OR of 1.020 (95%CI, 1.009–1.031)] contribute to anxiety in the general population. This is also true for those with a personal history of anxiety, revealed by multiple regression. DISCUSSION: This study contributes to the research on COVID-19’s impact on anxiety and provides the first comprehensive assessment of nuclear war anxiety in Portugal. Results highlight the need for long-term care for anxiety, as prevalence is expected to increase due to the pandemic and war, even in non-conflict areas like Portugal. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10423817 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-104238172023-08-15 COVID-19 or threat of a nuclear war in Europe? A cross-sectional study of anxiety levels in adults living in Portugal Prazeres, Filipe Maricoto, Tiago Lima, Inês Sampaio Simões, Pedro Simões, José Augusto Front Public Health Public Health BACKGROUND: Since 2019, Europe has experienced ongoing stressors with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian–Ukrainian War, which have had social, financial, physical, and psychological impacts. Studies suggest that anxiety, fear, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other psychological disorders are common in such situations, and there is a need for more research on the impact of the war on mental health in Portugal. The main goal of the present study was to assess the impact of the fear of COVID-19 and anxiety related to nuclear war on the general anxiety levels of adult individuals living in Portugal. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to July 2022 using an online questionnaire built on the Google Forms platform. Portuguese-speaking male and female individuals aged 18 years or older, who provided informed consent and agreed to participate, were included. The outcome variable was defined using the Portuguese version of the GAD-7 scale, while the main predictors were the FCV-19S and the NWA Scale in Portuguese. Linear and logistic regression models were used to test associations between predictors and outcome variable. RESULTS: The study included 1,182 participants, with a mean age of 46.5 (±11.7) years, mostly women (80.6%). The global mean GAD-7 score was 5.8 (±4.5) points, and 17.9% of the participants scored above the 10-point cutoff. Higher scores were found in both the FCV-19S and the NWA scale among participants with anxiety, as measured by both a 10-point cutoff (p < 0.001), and GAD-7 scale mean scores (p < 0.001). The study showed that fear of COVID-19 [OR of 1.133 (95%CI: 1.097–1.170)] and, at a lesser extent, nuclear war anxiety [OR of 1.020 (95%CI, 1.009–1.031)] contribute to anxiety in the general population. This is also true for those with a personal history of anxiety, revealed by multiple regression. DISCUSSION: This study contributes to the research on COVID-19’s impact on anxiety and provides the first comprehensive assessment of nuclear war anxiety in Portugal. Results highlight the need for long-term care for anxiety, as prevalence is expected to increase due to the pandemic and war, even in non-conflict areas like Portugal. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-07-31 /pmc/articles/PMC10423817/ /pubmed/37583890 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1159172 Text en Copyright © 2023 Prazeres, Maricoto, Lima, Simões and Simões. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Public Health Prazeres, Filipe Maricoto, Tiago Lima, Inês Sampaio Simões, Pedro Simões, José Augusto COVID-19 or threat of a nuclear war in Europe? A cross-sectional study of anxiety levels in adults living in Portugal |
title | COVID-19 or threat of a nuclear war in Europe? A cross-sectional study of anxiety levels in adults living in Portugal |
title_full | COVID-19 or threat of a nuclear war in Europe? A cross-sectional study of anxiety levels in adults living in Portugal |
title_fullStr | COVID-19 or threat of a nuclear war in Europe? A cross-sectional study of anxiety levels in adults living in Portugal |
title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 or threat of a nuclear war in Europe? A cross-sectional study of anxiety levels in adults living in Portugal |
title_short | COVID-19 or threat of a nuclear war in Europe? A cross-sectional study of anxiety levels in adults living in Portugal |
title_sort | covid-19 or threat of a nuclear war in europe? a cross-sectional study of anxiety levels in adults living in portugal |
topic | Public Health |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10423817/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37583890 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1159172 |
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