| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 13
| Issue : 1 | Page : 129 |
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The Iranian corona stress study: Psychological impacts of COVID-19 pandemic in an Iranian population
Sadegh Sabouhi1, Atefeh Vaezi2, Mohammad Reza Sharbafchi3, Amanda Aerni4, Dorothee Bentz4, David Coynel4, Dominique de Quervain4, Bernhard Fehlmann4, Virginie Freytag4, Christiane Gerhards4, Andreas Papassotiropoulos4, Nathalie Schicktanz4, Thomas Schlitt4, Anja Zimmer4, Priska Zuber4, Ehssan Amini4
1 Student Research Committee, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
2 Cancer Prevention Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
3 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
4 Transfaculty Research Platform Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Medical Faculty, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Correspondence Address:
Ehssan Amini
Transfaculty Research Platform Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Medical Faculty, University of Basel, Basel
Switzerland
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_281_21
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Background: To assess the psychological consequences of changes during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the Iranian population. Methods: We performed an anonymous online survey in the first 3 weeks of March 2020. Individuals older than 14 who could read Persian, and lived in Iran, were eligible for the study. The participants had to rate their stress levels and depressive symptoms (using a nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ-9) during the last 2 weeks and before the pandemic retrospectively. The changes in the psychological measurements and their association with the sociodemographic factors and burdens due to confinement were assessed. Results: Overall, among the 3,210 subjects who participated in our study, both the stress levels and average depression scores increased. However, about 23% of the subjects reported a decrease in their stress levels. The burden of childcare, restrictions in private life, and thoughts about the future were positively correlated with the changes in the stress levels and depression scores (,r,> 0.15). However, feeling relieved in the pandemic condition, and enjoying more family time were associated with less change in the stress and depression scores. Being religious (odds ratio [OR] [CI]: 1.5 [1.3-1-8]) and older age (OR [CI]: 2.9 [1.8–4.6] for >55 years old) were identified as the resilience factors, whereas being a student (OR [CI]: 2.1 [1.6;2.7]), seeking a job (OR [CI]: 2.6 [1.8;3.9]), and history of a psychiatric disorder (OR [CI]: 3.2 [2.6;4]) were identified as the risk factors for depression. Conclusions: The stress levels and depressive symptoms have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and this increase is related to different social and personal burdens due to the confinement conditions.
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