Psychological states of Bangladeshi people and associated factors during the outbreak of COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey

COVID-19 is imposing an extremely serious challenge to individuals’ physical and mental health. The enforcement of lockdown, restriction on public gathering, social distancing strategy, and unprecedented quarantine measures has affected many aspects of peoples’ lives in Bangladesh with potential consequences on their mental and physical health. This study aimed to assess the psychological states and their related factors among general people in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 outbreak. An e-questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 565 Bangladeshi general people between April and May, 2020. Measures included socio-demographics, chronic disease-related variables, the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). Descriptive analysis and bivariate linear regression with “depression” and “anxiety” as the dependent variables were carried out to identify the factors associated with these. Results showed that 30.1% and 32.6% of participants had mild to extremely severe levels of anxiety and depression, respectively. Females were 2.3 (OR = 2.26; 95% CI = 1.58-3.25, p < 0.001) and 2.2 (OR = 2.19; 95% CI = 1.51-3.16, p < 0.001) times more likely to have depression and anxiety, respectively compared to males. In contrast, the odds of depression and anxiety were 2.9 (OR = 2.85; 95% CI = 1.66-4.90, p < 0.001) and 2.0 (OR = 2.00; 95% CI = 1.20-3.36, p = 0.008) times higher, respectively among individuals aged above 40 years than those aged between 18-40 years. The healthcare authority should take necessary steps considering the psychological problems of the general people during the health emergency.