Treatment, Persistent Symptoms, and Depression in People Infected with COVID-19 in Bangladesh

Md. Saiful Islam, Most. Zannatul Ferdous, Ummay Soumayia Islam, Abu Syed Md. Mosaddek, Marc N. Potenza and Shahina Pardhan
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Md. Saiful Islam: Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh
Most. Zannatul Ferdous: Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh
Ummay Soumayia Islam: Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh
Abu Syed Md. Mosaddek: Department of Pharmacology, Uttara Adhunik Medical College, Uttara, Dhaka 1230, Bangladesh
Marc N. Potenza: Department of Psychiatry, and Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
Shahina Pardhan: Vision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Young Street, Cambridge CB1 2LZ, UK

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has affected people’s lives globally. While important research has been conducted, much remains to be known. In Bangladesh, initial treatment (self-administered, hospitalized), persistent COVID-19 symptoms (“long COVID-19”), and whether COVID-19 leads to changes in mental state, such as depressive symptoms, of people are not known. This study aimed to examine treatment, persistent symptoms, and depression in people who had been infected with COVID-19 in Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1002 individuals infected with COVID-19 (60% male; mean age = 34.7 ± 13.9; age range = 18–81 years), with data taken over a one-month period (11 September 2020 to 13 October 2020). A self-reported online questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographics, lifestyle, COVID-19 symptoms (during and beyond COVID-19), medication (over-the-counter or doctor-prescribed), and depression (assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)). Results: Twenty-four percent of participants self-medicated with over-the-counter medicine when they were first diagnosed with COVID-19. Self-medication was higher among female vs. male respondents (29.6% vs. 20.2%, respectively, p = 0.002). A minority (20%) reported that they experienced persistent COVID-like symptoms after recovering from COVID-19. The most reported persistent symptoms were diarrhea (12.7%) and fatigue (11.5%). Forty-eight percent of participants were categorized as having moderate to severe depression. Based on multivariate regression analysis, depression during COVID-19 was positively associated with lower family income, poor health status, sleep disturbance, lack of physical activity, hypertension, asthma/respiratory problems, fear of COVID-19 re-infection, and persistent COVID-19 symptoms. Conclusions: The findings suggest a need for appropriate interventions for COVID-19 patients to promote physical and mental wellbeing.

Keywords: depression; COVID-19; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; recovery; Bangladesh; sleep–wake disorders (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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