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. 2021 May 31:14:2161-2170.
doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S312465. eCollection 2021.

Anxiety Levels Amid the COVID-19 Lockdown in Saudi Arabia

Faisal Mashel Albagmi  1   2 , Heba Yaagoub AlNujaidi  1 , Deema Saad Al Shawan  1
Affiliations

Anxiety Levels Amid the COVID-19 Lockdown in Saudi Arabia

Faisal Mashel Albagmi et al. Int J Gen Med. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence of anxiety and factors associated with it during the peak of the outbreak in Saudi Arabia.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional research screened the general public using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 to detect anxiety levels. The questionnaire was distributed online during May 2020, while lockdowns were enforced. A total of 3017 respondents from all five main regions of Saudi Arabia completed the survey. The prevalence of anxiety was measured. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were executed to determine associated factors with anxiety during peak lockdown.

Results: About 19.6% of the respondents possessed a moderate to severe level of anxiety during the pandemic. Western, Northern, and Eastern regions of Saudi Arabia were found to be the most anxious. Female participants had 5.3% higher levels of anxiety compared to male counterparts. The youngest age group (18 to 19 years), most of them were students, reported the highest frequency of anxiety (28.7%). Divorced and single participants had a higher level of anxiety compared to married ones. After adjusted with other variables, living with a family member with risk of the COVID-19 was the best predictor assessing anxiety amid peak lockdown (OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.4-2.2).

Conclusion: Notable anxiety prevailed during the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia. The presence of vulnerable subjects in the family augments this psychological disorder considerably. Our findings promulgate a need to inculcate nation-wide strategies to enforce public health emergency preparedness plans to mitigate the adverse psychological effects of outbreaks.

Keywords: COVID-19; Saudi Arabia; anxiety disorder; prevalence; psychological impact.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors reported no conflicts of interest for this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Anxiety level among different regions of Saudi Arabia. The y-axis shows the region, while the x-axis shows the percentages of anxiety in different regions. The green bar indicates mild anxiety, the blue bar indicates moderate anxiety, and the yellow bar indicates severe anxiety.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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