Factors Associated with Anxiety, Depression, and Stress in Peruvian University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Palmer J. Hernández-Yépez, Carlos O. Muñoz-Pino, Valeria Ayala-Laurel, Pavel J. Contreras-Carmona, Fiorella Inga-Berrospi, Víctor J. Vera-Ponce, Virgilo E. Failoc-Rojas (), César Johan Pereira-Victorio () and Mario J. Valladares-Garrido ()
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Palmer J. Hernández-Yépez: South American Center for Education and Research in Public Health, Universidad Norbert Wiener, Lima 15046, Peru
Carlos O. Muñoz-Pino: South American Center for Education and Research in Public Health, Universidad Norbert Wiener, Lima 15046, Peru
Valeria Ayala-Laurel: South American Center for Education and Research in Public Health, Universidad Norbert Wiener, Lima 15046, Peru
Pavel J. Contreras-Carmona: South American Center for Education and Research in Public Health, Universidad Norbert Wiener, Lima 15046, Peru
Fiorella Inga-Berrospi: South American Center for Education and Research in Public Health, Universidad Norbert Wiener, Lima 15046, Peru
Víctor J. Vera-Ponce: Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Ricardo Palma, Lima 15039, Peru
Virgilo E. Failoc-Rojas: Research Unit for Generation and Synthesis Evidence in Health, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima 15024, Peru
César Johan Pereira-Victorio: School of Medicine, Universidad Continental, Lima 15046, Peru
Mario J. Valladares-Garrido: South American Center for Education and Research in Public Health, Universidad Norbert Wiener, Lima 15046, Peru

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-12

Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, university students have adopted measures that completely transformed their educational environment, and this has generated an increase in psychological stress. The present study aimed to identify the factors associated with anxiety, depression, and stress in students at a university in Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study in students in Lima, Peru. The DASS-21 scale was used to measure levels of depression, anxiety, and stress and associate it with socio-educational and COVID-19-related variables using generalized linear models with Poisson distribution, log link, and robust variance. Of 400 students surveyed, 19.2%, 23.2% and 17.2% of students presented depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. The frequency of depression (PR = 0.91, 95%CI: 0.84–0.99), anxiety (PR = 0.90, 95%CI: 0.83–0.99) and stress (PR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.86–0.99) was lower in women. The students of the engineering and business faculty presented a higher frequency of anxiety (PR = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.00–1.22). There was a greater frequency of presenting anxiety, depression and stress in students who worked in a different area of health or did not work. Our results suggest the importance of promoting mental health awareness campaigns in university students due to the constant academic load they have.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; stress; COVID-19; pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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