Abstract
Introduction and aim: The Covid-2019 pandemic has caused serious threats to the life of people all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, leading to a more alarming concern of public health. This maiden pandemic to most of the century's inhabitants has also raised a wide range of psychological problems, such as distress, panic disorder, anxiety and depression, which could be long lasting and more devastating. The main purpose of the present questionnaire based study was to measure the prevalence and severity of distress in the population of six major regions of Saudi Arabia to have an idea of the impact of the second wave of Covid-19.
Methods: This initial analysis, is an important large-scale study of psychological distress among the Saudi population during the second wave of COVID-19 epidemic, as few reports exist in literature in the area. An online cross sectional study was conducted from 24th March 2021 to 15 April 2021 in important regions of KSA where bilingual questionnaires with both Arabic and English versions were circulated to volunteers. Sample size calculation was based on WHO recommended criteria, minimum sample size being 385 based on 95% confidence interval with 5% significance level.
Results: Among the total participants, 33.5% showed mild level of anxiety, followed by moderate (25.5%) and severe (14.3%) anxiety levels. A total of 230 out of 525 (43.8%) showed depression symptoms and among the total participants, females expressed more depressive symptoms compared to the male participants.
Conclusion: The findings of the study can be used for developing better and improved care and provision for people with psychological burden and mental illness, as it is necessary to offer targeted treatment, such as online psychotherapy in particular for the distressed.