Condiciones Médicas, Síntomas de Ansiedad y Depresión Durante la Pandemia por COVID-19 en una Muestra Poblacional de Lima, Perú

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to determine differences between the number of underlying medical conditions, depression, and anxiety, when controlling for the covariates of age, sex, and completed education. METHODS: Participants (n = 484) indicated the number of medical conditions present during the survey, also including the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, to assess depression and anxiety, respectively. RESULTS: Differences were found between groups of medical conditions and the combined values of PHQ-9 and GAD-7 after controlling for the covariates mentioned above (F(4,954) = 5.78; Wilks’ Λ=0.95; P< 0.0005). The univariate tests showed differences for PHQ-9 (F(2,478) = 8.70; P< 0.0005) and GAD-7 (F(2,478) = 11.16; P< 0.0005) between the 3 groups. Finally, post-hoc analysis showed differences between participants with one medical condition and with no medical condition (PHQ-9: M(D) = 1.82; 95%CI, 0.25-3.40; GAD-7: M(D) = 1.73; 95%CI, 0.55-2.91), and between participants with more than one medical condition and participants with no medical condition (PHQ-9: M(D) = 3.10; 95%CI, 1.11-5.10; GAD-7: M(D) = 2.46; 95%CI, 0.97-3.95). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that people who had a medical condition during the COVID-19 pandemic were more prone to developing severe symptoms of anxiety and depression.