Predictors of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Brazil during COVID-19

Zhang, Stephen X.; Huang, Hao; Li, Jizhen; Antonelli-Ponti, Mayra; Paiva, Scheila Farias de; da Silva, José Aparecido

doi:10.3390/ijerph18137026

Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Edit a Special Issue

Article Menu

...

Open AccessArticle

Predictors of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Brazil during COVID-19

Stephen X. Zhang

^1,*

Hao Huang

²,

Jizhen Li

Mayra Antonelli-Ponti

⁴,

Scheila Farias de Paiva

^5,6

and

José Aparecido da Silva

⁷

Faculty of Professions, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia

School of Business Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China

Research Center for Competitive Dynamics and Innovation Strategy, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

⁴

Department of Psychology, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, Brazil

⁵

Department of Speech and Language Pathology, Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), Lagarto 49100-000, Brazil

⁶

Psychology Graduate Program, Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora 36036-900, Brazil

⁷

Unit of Psychobiology, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, Brazil

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 7026; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137026

Received: 21 May 2021 / Revised: 21 June 2021 / Accepted: 22 June 2021 / Published: 30 June 2021

(This article belongs to the Section Mental Health)

View Full-Text Download PDF Citation Export

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil is extremely severe, and Brazil has the third-highest number of cases in the world. The goal of the study is to identify the prevalence rates and several predictors of depression and anxiety in Brazil during the initial outbreak of COVID-19. We surveyed 482 adults in 23 Brazilian states online on 9–22 May 2020, and found that 70.3% of the adults (n = 339) had depressive symptoms and 67.2% (n = 320) had anxiety symptoms. The results of multi-class logistic regression models revealed that females, younger adults, and those with fewer children had a higher likelihood of depression and anxiety symptoms; adults who worked as employees were more likely to have anxiety symptoms than those who were self-employed or unemployed; adults who spent more time browsing COVID-19 information online were more likely to have depression and anxiety symptoms. Our results provide preliminary evidence and early warning for psychiatrists and healthcare organizations to better identify and focus on the more vulnerable sub-populations in Brazil during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. View Full-Text

Keywords: COVID-19; Brazil; anxiety; depression; predictors; risk factors

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Zhang, S.X.; Huang, H.; Li, J.; Antonelli-Ponti, M.; Paiva, S.F.d.; da Silva, J.A. Predictors of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Brazil during COVID-19. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 7026. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137026

AMA Style

Zhang SX, Huang H, Li J, Antonelli-Ponti M, Paiva SFd, da Silva JA. Predictors of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Brazil during COVID-19. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(13):7026. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137026

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhang, Stephen X., Hao Huang, Jizhen Li, Mayra Antonelli-Ponti, Scheila F.d. Paiva, and José A. da Silva. 2021. "Predictors of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Brazil during COVID-19" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 13: 7026. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137026

Find Other Styles

Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Abstract views Pdf views Html views

Article Menu

Predictors of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Brazil during COVID-19

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Article Access Map by Country/Region

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI