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Eighteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic: The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in Southeast Asia and the associated demographic factors

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dc.contributor.authorWendy Wan Ying Tay
dc.contributor.authorJehanita Jesuthasan
dc.contributor.authorKim Sui Wan
dc.contributor.authorTiffanie Ong
dc.contributor.authorFeisul Mustapha
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-16T06:16:51Z
dc.date.available2024-07-16T06:16:51Z
dc.date.issued2022-08-04
dc.description.abstractMental health has become a growing concern in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to determine the prevalence of mental health symptoms 18 months after the pandemic's declaration. Our cross-sectional study conducted among 18- to 65-year-old adults (N = 33,454) in October 2021 using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) found a high prevalence of severe to extremely severe anxiety (49%), depression (47%) and stress (36%) symptoms in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore. Multiple logistic regression showed that female and non-binary genders were associated with increased odds of severe/extremely severe symptoms of anxiety (female: aOR 1.44 [95% CI 1.37–1.52]; non-binary aOR 1.46 [1.16–1.84]), depression (female: aOR 1.39 [1.32–1.47]; non-binary aOR 1.42 [1.13–1.79]), and stress (female: aOR 1.48 [CI 1.40–1.57]; non-binary aOR 1.42 [1.12–1.78]). In all three symptom domains, the odds of severe/extremely severe symptoms decreased across age groups. Middle- and high-income respondents had lower odds of reporting severe/extremely severe anxiety (middle-income: aOR 0.79 [0.75–0.84]; high-income aOR 0.77 [0.69–0.86]) and depression (middle-income: aOR 0.85 [0.80–0.90]; high-income aOR 0.84 [0.76–0.94]) symptoms compared to low-income respondents, while only middle-income respondents had lower odds of experiencing severe/extremely severe stress symptoms (aOR 0.89 [0.84–0.95]). Compared to residents of Malaysia, residents of Indonesia were more likely to experience severe/extremely severe anxiety symptoms (aOR 1.08 [1.03–1.15]) but less likely to experience depression (aOR 0.69 [0.65–0.73]) or stress symptoms (aOR 0.92 [0.87–0.97]). Respondents living in Singapore had increased odds of reporting severe/extremely severe depression symptoms (aOR 1.33 [1.16–1.52]), while respondents residing in Thailand were more likely to experience severe/extremely severe stress symptoms (aOR 1.46 [1.37–1.55]). This study provides insights into the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the point prevalence of psychological distress in Southeast Asia one and a half years after the beginning of the pandemic
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.863323
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.nih.gov.my/handle/123456789/558
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherFrontier Media SA
dc.relation.ispartofFrontiers in Public Health
dc.relation.issn2296-2565
dc.relation.journalFrontiers in Public Health
dc.subjectMental health
dc.subjectCovid-19
dc.subjectDepression
dc.subjectanxiety disorder
dc.subjectSoutheast Asia
dc.titleEighteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic: The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in Southeast Asia and the associated demographic factors
dc.typejournal-article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.volume10
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