Anxiety, depressive symptoms, sleep patterns & associated factors among Bangladeshi wage earners during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study [post]

Mst. Sadia Sultana, Abid Hasan Khan, Sahadat Hossain, Adnan Ansar, Tajuddin Sikder, M Tasdik Hasan
2020 unpublished
Introduction:The economic vulnarability imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic induces stress on mental health of wage earnes in Bangladesh which is largely unexplored. This evidence gap was addressed in this study aiming to evaluate the mental health difficulties among Bangladeshi wage earners by assessing the associated factors influencing anxiety, depressive symptoms and sleep patterns.Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted through online survey, a total of 707 individual Bangladeshi
more » ... earners were enrolled in between 20 May 2020 and 30 May 2020. The questionnaire had sections on sociodemographic information, COVID-19 related information, & sleep duration; PHQ-9 & GAD-7 scales to assess depressive symptoms & anxiety, respectively. STATA version 14.1 program was used to carry out all the analyses. Results:The study revealed that anxiety and depressive symptoms among wage earners differed by gender, educational status, occupation, total monthly income (p ≤0.01). Fear of COVID-19 when working outside during the pandemic situation was inextricably linked with anxiety (AOR=2.08; 95% CI:1.42-3.04) and depressive symptoms (AOR=1.51; 95% CI= 1.04-2.20) among wage-earners. Participants who stayed at home for longer duration (>60 days) were more likely to have elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms (p≤ 0.05). Regarding sleep pattern, longer home stay during COVID-19 pandemic increased duration of sleep (β=0.70; 95% CI: 0.30 to 1.10) and respondents who were responsible to financially support their family experienced significantly decreased duration of sleep (β= -0.68; 95% CI: -1.18 to -0.20).Conclusions:The results of this study provided novel evidence on psychological difficulties among Bangladeshi wage earners which calls for an in-depth & longitudinal evaluation and immediate low intensity psychosocial interventions.
doi:10.31234/osf.io/289uf fatcat:rayoda75nrcdxchypaorvluq7u