Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 6, 2022; 10(25): 8880-8892
Published online Sep 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i25.8880
Mental health of the Slovak population during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey
Maria Kralova, Alexandra Brazinova, Veronika Sivcova, Lubomira Izakova
Maria Kralova, Lubomira Izakova, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Comenius University and University Hospital Bratislava, Bratislava 81369, Slovakia
Alexandra Brazinova, Veronika Sivcova, Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine Comenius University Bratislava, Bratislava 81372, Slovakia
Author contributions: Kralova M, Brazinova A, and Izakova L designed the research, interpreted the research findings, and wrote the manuscript; Brazinova A analyzed the data; Sivcova V constructed and edited the tables and figures, and edited the references of the manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the internal ethical committee of the non-governmental organization League for Mental Health.
Informed consent statement: This is an observational study not requiring the signed informed consent form–the study works with anonymous data.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to report.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Lubomira Izakova, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Comenius University and University Hospital Bratislava, Mickiewiczova 13, Bratislava 81369, Slovakia. lubomira.izakova@gmail.com
Received: March 31, 2022
Peer-review started: March 31, 2022
First decision: May 11, 2022
Revised: June 6, 2022
Accepted: August 1, 2022
Article in press: August 1, 2022
Published online: September 6, 2022
Processing time: 147 Days and 16.3 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Monitoring of population’s mental health is essential for knowing the distribution of mental well-being and mental disorders in the society. Mental disorders constitute a large burden, and they are the leading cause of disability. The information provided by such monitoring should serve as a database for evidence-based mental health policy, for setting the effective preventive measures and curative services.

Research motivation

As there is abundant evidence that the population’s mental health is largely affected by crisis situations and the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the general population of the Slovak Republic has not yet been studied, we have conducted a study on the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms.

Research objectives

The aim of the current study was to assess the mental health of the general Slovak population aged 15 years and older in the summer of 2021 (beginning of the Delta wave of the COVID-19 pandemic) by determining the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms.

Research methods

A cross-sectional study was implemented in July 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Slovak Republic to assess the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms. The study was performed in a sample of 1501 respondents. The symptoms of anxiety were assessed using the 7-item instrument generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) and the symptoms of depression were assessed by the 9-item instrument patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) instruments.

Research results

Anxiety was present in 19.32% and depression in 24.65% of the study group. Both disorders were more common in females. Around 15.00% of males and 24.00% of females had moderate to severe anxiety, and 19.00% of males and 30.00% of females had moderate to severe depression. Moderate to severe anxiety was the most common in males in the age groups of 15-25 years old (20.29%) and 26-35 years old (17.82%). In females, it was the most common in the age groups of 15-25, 26-35, and 36-45 years old (35.32%, 25.9%, and 22.5%, respectively), as well as in the oldest age group of 70+ (17.04%). Moderate to severe depression was the most common in youngest males (15-25 years old; 26.09%) and in the subsequent group (26-35 years old; 24.72%). Younger age (15-25 years old) was statistically significantly associated with the presence of anxiety or depressive symptoms, as well as being female and having primary education.

Research conclusions

The results of our study indicate that perceived anxiety and depressive symptoms are frequent in the population of the Slovak Republic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the prevalence rates and mean scores for anxiety and depressive symptoms are highest in those under 25 years and in females. These results, together with great mental health care gap observed in the Slovak Republic previously, call for the need of urgent implementation of the mental health care reform that is under way in the country.

Research perspectives

Our study, together with international scientific outcomes, invites new research to further explore the relationships of COVID-19 pandemic and population’s mental health with an emphasis on long-term consequences.