Psychological Morbidity Among COVID-19 Survivors: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Health Care Workers

A range of psychiatric morbidities such as persistent depression, anxiety, insomnia, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been observed in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) survivors. The objective of this study was to explore the psychological status of health care workers after recovery from COVID-19 and to examine the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with psychiatric morbidity.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among health care workers of a tertiary care hospital in South India. The study included health care workers who tested positive for COVID-19 according to the provisional guidelines of the World Health Organization. The data were collected after they tested negative for COVID-19 from September 2020 to October 2020. The study used a semistructured proforma and rating scales such as the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 to assess for depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

The results indicate that the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and PTSD among 107 post-COVID patients was 26.2%%, 12.1%, and 3.7%%, respectively. Female sex (P = .017), patients with post-COVID persistent physical symptoms (P = .05), and the duration of fever during the acute phase of COVID-19 infection (P = .005) were found to have a statistically significant association with a higher rate of depression among the study population.

The study findings indicate that all COVID-19 survivors working in the health care sector should be screened for depression and anxiety disorders regularly for early detection and effective management.