A community based cross-sectional study on impact assessment of COVID-19 on mental health in Central India

The current study is one of few community based surveys assessing the effect of COVID -19 in rural India. It is a cross sectional study to find the prevalence of depression, anxiety and PTSD among those affected with COVID-19 disease. Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7), PHQ-9 and IES-R were used to assess prevalence levels of depression, anxiety, and PTSD among the community of Durg district of Chhattisgarh state of India. Out of total 431 participants, 44 % were male, mean age of participants was 41{+/-}14, 87% had health insurance, 40% had co-morbidities like hypertension or diabetes, half of them experienced food shortage and change in income during the pandemic. One third participants experienced death among one or more family members due to the pandemic. The mean scores of IES-R, GAD-7 and PHQ-9 were 23.59-24.91, 1.50,2.07 and 1.06-1.58 respectively. Thirty percent observed some distress, 15% reported depression and 12 % reported anxiety. The adjusted effect of death in family due to COVID-19 was found to be significantly associated with higher risk of mental distress, whereas education was associated with lower risk of distress. Depression and anxiety was more among the elderly and less among individuals living in nuclear families. Scarcity of food and change in income were significantly associated with anxiety.