Psychiatric morbidity among COVID-19 positive persons in Central Province, Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional study

Background: The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been reported to affect the physical and mental well-being of individuals due to its pathophysiology and associated strict control measures.

Aims: To explore the psychological morbidity and associated factors among the recently diagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals in Central Province, Sri Lanka.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among residents of the intermediate care centres (ICC) for COVID-19 infected patients in the Central Province, Sri Lanka from 06/05/2021 to 04/08/2021. The participants completed a questionnaire on sociodemographic details and were screened for symptoms of depression and anxiety using the Patient Health Questionnaire- 9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7).

Results: Of the 419 participants, 18.6% and 11.2% met cutoffs for depression and anxiety respectively. None of the participants reported self-harm following the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection, but 4.5% reported having experienced suicidal ideas. On bivariate analysis, female sex (P=0.002), being older than 35 years (P=0.04) and the presence of non-communicable diseases in the participant (P=0.04) were significantly associated with symptoms of depression.

Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that a proportion of people diagnosed with acute COVID-19 infection experience psychological symptoms. This indicates the need for increased awareness about mental health issues associated with COVID-19 and the provision of appropriate psychological support for individuals at risk.