key: cord-0959354-7wy5x3ly
authors: Goswami, S.; Chakraborty, S.; Chakraborty, A.
title: Measurement of the extent of Anxiety and Depression that has occurred in college students due to the COVID 19 pandemic: An Survey based cross-sectional study.
date: 2021-12-19
journal: nan
DOI: 10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026
sha: 3fad88d8f9fb66119f39815200cc6c751f17655e
doc_id: 959354
cord_uid: 7wy5x3ly

OVERVIEW: The ongoing Pandemic because of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused all the educational institutes including colleges to be closed for a very long time. As a result the students are compelled to remain in their homes for this time. Prolonged stay at home along with excess use of social media and other modes to kill the time are quite famous to cause certain health issues in a person, specially the teenagers and adolescents. Mental wellbegin, being a dimension of health as per WHO should not be ignored at all specially in these situations. METHOD OF STUDY: A Online Questionnaire is prepared based of the ZUNG Self Rating Anxiety and Self Rating Depression Scale (Pre-validated Scales). The Form is circulated digitally among the people and then we have collected the data in excel. Based on the result we have prepared our statistical chart RESULT: Quite a significant number of candidates were suffering due to the pandemic situation. 17.091% were suffering from mild to moderate anxiety, 1.785% had marked to severe anxiety levels, (Constituting approximately 18.9% of the total). On the other hand, 8.673% of the students had mild depression, while 1 candidate (0.255%) had moderate depression and 1 (0.255%) had severe depression, (Constituting approximately 9.20% of the total). We found that candidates in the age group of 23-24 years had the maximum prevalence of depression. It was followed by candidates with ages between 21-22 years. We found that the candidates with age between 23 to 24 years were having highest prevalence of significant anxiety levels which is closely followed by candidates having age which lies between 22 years to 23 years.

This is a Online QuesAonnaire based study which is done in India. The quesAonnaire is made on the lines of prevaildated Zung Self-RaAng Anxiety Scale and Zung Self-RaAng Depression Scale. Along with this a few quesAons to asses the Socioeconomic status, Age, Residence were also added. The data is taken in excel; sheet and staAsAcal graph is prepared using SPSS.

The quesAons added in addiAon to prevalidated scales are:-

The survey was conducted from 15 October 2021 to 15 November 2021. Students enrolled in different colleges across India were the target populaAon. An easy to understand quesAonnaire was used to collect 'basic informaAon,' 'depression,' and 'anxiety' related informaAon. An online-based plalorm was used to distribute the e-quesAonnaire, developed by using the Google Form, to the students. College students from all the divisions in India were contacted through different social networks and interviewed.

Study Type: A Cross-secAonal type of analyAcal observaAonal study.

CONSENT FORM: I hereby state that i am giving my consent voluntarily to take part in the survey to measure the anxiety and depression occurred due to the corona virus pandemic. I will have the right to quit the study anytime as per my will. . CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint Timelines:

Place of Study: This is a virtual study on different social media plalorms, among the students of different colleges across the India.

Study Popula7on: All Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate college-going students of any age group but exposed to the curriculum for at least 1 year.

Sample size: According to AISHE 2020, total number of enrolment in higher educaAon has been esAmated to be 38.5 million. Considering it as populaAon size, the sample size was calculated with the help of Raosog Sample size calculator. Using a margin of error of 5%, confidence level of 95%, and response distribuAon of 50%, the sample size came out as 385. Considering 10% Non-Response rate (NRR), the size stands 428 (427.7).

Sampling Technique: Purposive sampling technique All the targeted sample size is reached.

Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students of any age group but exposed to the curriculum for at least 1 year were included in the study.

Students who were unwilling to parAcipate, who submiqed incomplete data and those who did not come under the given inclusion criteria were excluded from the study. Microsog Excel was used for calculaAng the findings and results.

Administering the questionnaires and collecting the data in Google Docs . CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint Study Tools: 1. Administered questionnaire (Pre-validated for the purpose of the study)

To determine the prevalence or to measure the extent of anxiety and depression level among the students, first they were registered or enlisted in a Google sheet. During the course of enlistment an informed consent was taken & only those who gave the consent, were included in the study. A prevalidated Questionnaire on anxiety and depression was be supplied to each student virtually which was filled by them.

Data was collected with the help of the quesAonnaire consisAng of sociodemographic data and the above menAoned scales. The forms was majorly distributed and forwarded digitally through Google Forms. 

This study was conducted after due getting permission from Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC). All college-going students will be included in the study based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 392 students were included in the study (Which is a value in between 385 and 428)

We collected data from 392 students from around the various states of India, who belongs from various age groups.

Number of students in study . CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 1.SEX:-Our study had 56.6% male and 42.9% female participants, this ensures both the gender are nearly equally represented. Rest 0.5% of the participants preferred not to disclose their gender. . CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. . CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 2: 12.5% of the parAcipants told they felt more nervous and anxious than usual while the majority of 38.5% reported to have it for a very liqle of the Ame. It should be noted that 32.9% said to have it someAmes.

3: 18.1% of the parAcipants said they get upset or feel panicky for most of the Ame. It should be noted that 21.4% and 28.8% of the parAcipants felt the same for good part of Ame and some part of Ame respecAvely.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 4: 12.2% of the respondents said that they feel like falling apart and going into pieces. We also found that 30.4% and 14.3% said that they feel the same for some of the Ame and good part of Ame respecAvely. 5: 29.8% of the respondents said that most of the Ame they don't feel everything is all right and something bad can happen. On the other hand 17.3% of the candidates said that this happens most of the Ame, while 21.9% of the candidates said this happens for good part of Ame. . CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 6: 13(3.3%) and 17(4.3%) candidates said that their arms and legs tremble for most of the Ame and good part of Ame respecAvely. Also 45 candidates (11.5%) reported the same for some part of the Ame. 7. 9.9% and 16.1% of the candidates reported that they are bothered by headaches, neck and back pain for most of the Ame and good part of Ame respecAvely. On the other hand, 26.5% of the candidates reported the same for some part of the Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 8. 27.8% of the candidates said that they feel calm and can sit sAll easily for only a liqle part of the Ame. While 29.3% are able to do so for only some part of the Ame. 9 . 16.1% of the candidates felt weak and get Ared easily for most part of the Ame . On the other hand 17.9% of the candidates did the same for a good part of the Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 10. 17 (4.3%) candidates reported that they can feel their heart beaAng fast for most of the Ame. On the other hand, 12.5% of the candidates felt the same for good part of the Ame. 11 . 14(3.6%) of the respondents reported that they are bothered by dizzy spells for most of the Ame. On the other hand 27 candidates (6.9%) said they felt the same for good part of the Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 12. 8.9% of the respondents said that they can breadth in and out for only a liqle part of the Ame while 6.4% of the candidates reported the same for some part of the Ame.

13. 9 (2.3%) of the candidates said they had fainAng spells or feel like it fo most of the Ame. While 2.8% of the candidates felt the same for good part of the Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. . CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 16. 15 (3.8%) of the respondents reported that they have to empty bladder ogen for most of the Ame while 12.2% of the respondent did the same for good part of the Ame.

17. 22.2% of the candidates reported to have usually dry and warm hands for most part of the Ame while 16.8% of the candidates reported the same for good part of the Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 18. 12(3.1%) of the candidates said their face got hot and blushes for most of the Ame while 9.7% of the candidates felt the same for good part of the Ame.

19. 27.8% of the candidates said they fell asleep and get good night's rest for only liqle of the Ame. While 24.2% of the of the respondents had the same for only some of the Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 20. 8.4% of the respondents had nightmares for most of the Ame while 9.2% of the candidates had the same for good part of the Ame.

Based on the Zung self raAng Depression scale 21. 9.9% of the candidates felt down hearted and blue for most of the Ame while 16.1% of the candidates felt the same for good part of the Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 22. 23.7% of the respondents said they feel morning is the Ame when they feel the best for a liqle of the Ame. While 25.8% of the candidates felt the same for some part of the Ame. 23. 10.7% of the candidates said they had crying spells of feel like that for most of the Ame while 14.5% of the candidates felt the same for good part of the Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 24. 19.9% of the candidates had trouble in sleeping at night for most of the Ame, while 13.5% of the candidates had the same trouble good part of the Ame. 25. 18.1% of the parAcipants reported that they ate as much as they used to for a liqle of the Ame while 25.5% of the parAcipants ate as much as they used to for some of the Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 26. 41.1% of the parAcipants sAll enjoyed sexual acAvity for liqle of the Ame. On the other hand 22.2% for the parAcipants enjoyed the same for some part of the Ame. 27. 7.1% of the candidates reported that they are losing weight for most of the Ame while 8.4% of the candidates reported the same for good part of Ame . CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 28. 27 (6.9%) of the candidates reported to have trouble with consApaAon for most of the Ame. On the other hand 29 (7.4%) of the candidates reported the same trouble for good part of Ame. 29. 21 (5.4%) of the respondents said their heart beats fasted than usual for most of the Ame while 8.9% of the respondents felt the same for good part of the Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 30. 16.1% of the respondents said that they get Ared for no reason for most of the Ame. On the other hand 21.4% of the respondents had the same issue for good part of the Ame. 31. 36% of the candidates said their mind was as clear as it used to be for a liqle of the Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 32. 31.9% of the respondents were found to do things easily as the used to only for a liqle of the Ame while 29.1% of the respondents felt the same for some part of the Ame. 33. 11.2% of the candidates felt they are restless and can't keep sAll for most of the Ame, while 17.1% of the candidates felt the same for good part of Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 34. 27% of the respondents said they felt hopeful about the future only for a liqle of the Ame, while 27.6% of the respondents felt the same for some of the Ame. 35. 19.9% of the candidates felt they were more irritable than usual for most of the Ame while 19.6% of the candidates felt the same for good part of the Ame. 36. 32.7% of the respondents found it easy to make decisions only for a liqle of the Ame while 36.5% of the respondents found that it was easy to make decisions only for some of the Ame. 37. 27.3% of the respondents said that they felt they are useful and needed only for a liqle of the Ame while 24% of the respondents felt the same for good part of Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint 38. 30.1% of the parAcipants felt their life is preqy full for a liqle of the Ame while 28.6% of the candidates felt the same for some of the Ame.

39. 12% of the parAcipants reported that they fell others were beqer off if they were dead for most of the Ame. On the other hand 10.2% of the candidates felt the same for a good part of Ame.

. CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; 40. 18.4% of the candidates said they sAll enjoy the things they used to do for liqle of the Ame. While 28.1% of the candidates said that they felt the same for some of the Ame.

We tried taking datas from students from all parts of the country in order to perform the study. A total of 392 students took part in our study. We have seen that 67 (17.1%) out of the total respondents were suffering from mild to moderate anxiety and 7 (1.79%) students had marked to severe anxiety. Coming to the depression part, 34 (8.6%) students had mild depression, while there was 1 (0.255%) responder having moderate and 1 (0.255%) having severe depression. is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint

Our study had 168 (42.86%) female and 223 (56.89%) male respondents, while 2 candidates preferred not to disclose their gender. We also compared the relative anxiety and depression levels of male and female candidates and concluded that 22.03 % of females had significant levels of anxiety and 5.96% of the females had significant depression levels. On the other hand, 16.59% of the males had significant anxiety levels while 11.66% of the males had significant depression levels.

Out of the total candidates included in our study, 127 (32.4%) of them lived in rural areas whereas 265 (67.6%) were from urban areas. We compared the mental status in both livelihood areas and plotted the results in the following chart: is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint Our findings suggest a considerable negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a variety of academic-, health-, and lifestyle-related outcomes. Our study will eventually help the students to be conscious about their psychological status and inculcate the rational perception towards Anxiety and Depression management.

While analysing the data, we also concluded that 2 of the respondents had marked to severe anxiety with mild depression and 8 candidates had mild to moderate anxiety with mild depression. Also, 1 candidate had marked to severe anxiety with moderate depression. On the other hand 1 student had marked to severe anxiety with severe depression which is a concern and required immediate aqenAon. We mailed the respondent and requested him to visit psychologist, (as email was the sole way to communicate with the respondents).

We segregated the candidates according to their age group and sorted out the number of candidates having significant anxiety levels as per the scoring provided in the respecAve anxiety and depression scales, our conclusion is tabulated as following:

REMARK:-We found that the candidates with age between 23 to 24 years were having highest prevalence of significant anxiety levels which is closely followed by candidates having age which lies between 22 years to 23 years. is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint

REMARK:-We found that candidates in the age group of 23-24 years had the maximum prevalence of depression. It was followed by candidates with ages between 21-22 years. **-age group don't have enough individuals to make a judgement In light of the aforementioned projections of continued COVID-19 cases at the time of this writing and our findings, there is a need for immediate attention to and support for students and other vulnerable groups who have mental health issues.

Study shows that the pandemic has marked effect on the mental status of the students as the percentage of candidates with anxiety and depression cannot be ignored. Although there are some limitaAon in the study, we made it digital survey, so responders do have a smartphone and social media account. Due to the pandemic we were unable to reach the remote areas without electricity and internet. A proper awareness about the mental status and how to deal with it is highly needed among the students.

Quite a significant number of candidates were suffering due to the pandemic situation. 17.091% were suffering from mild to moderate anxiety, 1.785% had marked to severe anxiety levels, (Constituting approximately 18.9% of the total). On the other hand, 8.673% of the students had mild depression, while 1 candidate (0.255%) had moderate depression and 1 (0.255%) had severe depression, (Constituting approximately 9.20% of the total) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

(which was not certified by peer review) The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted December 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.18.21268026 doi: medRxiv preprint

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