Sociodemographic Factors, Mental Health, and Emotional Eating Associated With Concern for COVID-19 Contagion in Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between sociodemographic factors, stress, depression and anxiety, emotional eating, and concern about COVID-19 contagion in first and second-line Peruvian nurses. METHODOLOGY: The study was cross-sectional and conducted with 500 Peruvian nurses of both sexes, over 18 years of age. Validated questionnaires were used to measure sociodemographic aspects, concern about COVID-19, generalized anxiety, depression, self-perceived stress, and emotional eating. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to analyze the factors affecting concern about COVID-19 contagion. RESULTS: The multiple linear regression analysis showed that stress, being between the ages of 18 and 29 years, being male, being from the coastal region or the jungle region, having a bachelor’s degree, severe anxiety, and severe depression were associated with higher concern about COVID-19. On the other hand, having more than 5 to 10 years of experience and more than 10 years of experience, low emotional eating, and non-emotional eating were negatively associated with concern. This model explained 44.05% of the variability among the participating nurses. CONCLUSION: These findings provide resources for future research on the comprehensive well-being of nursing staff by exploring various sociodemographic aspects and mental conditions associated with greater concern about COVID-19. Meanwhile, years of experience and emotional eating behavior were associated with lower concern about COVID-19. Future studies could incorporate this information to preserve the mental and physical health of nurses in the face of potential occupational threats.