Depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD symptoms during the first and second COVID-19 waves: a comparison of elderly, middle-aged, and young people in Iran.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968559 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-244X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 1471244X NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Psychiatry Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001-

COVID-19*/epidemiology ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*/diagnosis ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*/epidemiology ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*/psychology; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Adolescent ; Depression/epidemiology ; Depression/psychology ; Pandemics ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Iran/epidemiology ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Anxiety/epidemiology ; Anxiety/psychology

Background: A widespread outbreak of epidemics like Covid-19 is a lethal threat to physical and mental health. Recent studies reported a higher prevalence of mental problems in younger individuals, contrary to the general assumption expected in older people. Therefore, it is necessary to compare anxiety, stress, depression and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) symptoms in different age groups during the Covid-19 crisis.
Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was performed (from Dec. 2020 to Feb. 2021) on three age groups of elderly, middle-aged and young people. Data were collected by DASS-21 (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale) and IES-R (Impact of Event Revised Scale) and analyzed using ANOVA, χ2 test and logistic regression analysis.
Results: Overall, 601 participants completed the questionnaires, including 23.3% of the elderly (≥ 60 years), 29.5% of the young (18-29 years) and 47.3% of the middle-aged (30-59 years) with 71.4% of women. The logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk of PTSD in young people was higher than in the elderly (β = 2.242, CI: 1.03-4.87, P = 0.041), while the risk of depression, anxiety and stress did not differ significantly among the three age groups. Female gender, occupation, lower economic status, solitary life, and chronic disease were risk factors for psychological symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Conclusion: Findings on the higher odds ratio of PTSD symptoms in younger individuals have interestingly potential implications to meet the needs of mental health services during Covid-19.
(© 2023. The Author(s).)

Front Psychiatry. 2020 Aug 17;11:841. (PMID: 32973583)
Front Public Health. 2021 Apr 01;9:640454. (PMID: 33869130)
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Nov 03;17(21):. (PMID: 33153074)
Int Psychogeriatr. 2021 May;33(5):505-514. (PMID: 33327988)
BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 Jan 26;22(1):111. (PMID: 35078477)
SSM Popul Health. 2021 Jul 24;15:100878. (PMID: 34471666)
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2021 Jun;33(6):1729-1743. (PMID: 33999378)
Ann Intern Med. 2022 Nov;175(11):1560-1571. (PMID: 36252247)
Psychiatry Res. 2020 Jul;289:112983. (PMID: 32388175)
BMC Psychiatry. 2021 Jan 7;21(1):16. (PMID: 33413238)
Public Health Pract (Oxf). 2022 Jun;3:100267. (PMID: 35535328)
Nature. 2015 Mar 5;519(7541):13-4. (PMID: 25739606)
Open J Psychiatry Allied Sci. 2021 Jan;12(1):31-35. (PMID: 33123627)
Med Sci Monit. 2020 Apr 26;26:e924609. (PMID: 32335579)
Heliyon. 2021 Jun 26;7(7):e07393. (PMID: 34278018)
J Affect Disord. 2020 Dec 1;277:55-64. (PMID: 32799105)
Front Psychol. 2020 Sep 08;11:567367. (PMID: 33013604)
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2020 Oct 28;16:2511-2518. (PMID: 33149592)
F1000Res. 2020 Jun 23;9:636. (PMID: 33093946)
Cureus. 2020 Jun 15;12(6):e8627. (PMID: 32685296)
Global Health. 2020 Jul 6;16(1):57. (PMID: 32631403)
Front Psychiatry. 2021 Aug 02;12:692498. (PMID: 34408679)
Asian J Psychiatr. 2020 Jun;51:102092. (PMID: 32315963)
Multivariate Behav Res. 1991 Jul 1;26(3):499-510. (PMID: 26776715)
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2020 Dec;35(12):1466-1467. (PMID: 32364283)
PLoS One. 2021 Feb 11;16(2):e0246824. (PMID: 33571297)
BMC Public Health. 2020 Sep 14;20(1):1395. (PMID: 32928180)
Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2018 Jun;86(4):347-363. (PMID: 28789561)
Lancet. 2020 Feb 22;395(10224):e37-e38. (PMID: 32043982)
J Migr Health. 2022;5:100081. (PMID: 35098193)
Soc Sci Med. 2022 Jul;305:115031. (PMID: 35649300)
J Clin Med. 2022 Nov 07;11(21):. (PMID: 36362814)
Gen Psychiatr. 2020 Mar 6;33(2):e100213. (PMID: 32215365)
Transl Psychiatry. 2019 Feb 14;9(1):88. (PMID: 30765686)
Psychiatry Res. 2020 Jun;288:112954. (PMID: 32325383)
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar 06;17(5):. (PMID: 32155789)
Brain Behav Immun. 2020 Jul;87:40-48. (PMID: 32298802)
PLoS One. 2021 Mar 17;16(3):e0247705. (PMID: 33730044)
Lancet. 2020 Mar 14;395(10227):912-920. (PMID: 32112714)
Psychiatry Res. 2021 Apr;298:113822. (PMID: 33652251)
Hist Philos Life Sci. 2021 Jul 13;43(3):91. (PMID: 34258692)
Lancet Psychiatry. 2020 Mar;7(3):228-229. (PMID: 32032543)

Keywords: Age groups; Anxiety; COVID-19; Depression; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Psychological stress

Date Created: 20230323 Date Completed: 20230324 Latest Revision: 20230328

20231215

PMC10033301

10.1186/s12888-023-04677-0

36949444