Assessment of Prevalence of Depression During Covid-19 among People in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh State, India

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge effect on mental health in the general population. As a result, during a crisis like a pandemic, surveillance and management of the population's mental health is obligatory. The objective of this study is to evaluate the level of depression among the selected population. In thiscross-sectional study, random sampling technique was used to recruit the study subjects from 10^th June 2020 to 10^th October 2020. PHQ-9 questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of depression. Data was collected through online survey. SPSS was used for data analysis.A total of N=412 participants were included in this study. The mean age of the participants is 24.9 years (SD±6.26. Majority (56%) of the participants are females while 44% are males. 43% are graduates, 27% postgraduates and 29% selected the option “other”. The mean PHQ-9 score was 6.32± 6.01. Majority (48%) are normal, 23% with mild depression, 21% with moderate depression, as few as 6% & 3% with moderately severe and severe depression respectively. Scores ≤ 10 were considered normal while scores ≥ 10 were categorised as having depression. 70% scored ≤ 10 while as low as 30% scored ≥ 10. Logistic regression analysis found a significant relationship between gender (p<0.02) and depression and no significant relationship between age and educational qualification (p>0.05). In conclusion, many of the people in this sample had depressive symptoms. The Indian government should make it a top priority to resolve the people's mental health needs. In the event of a pandemic, this finding suggests that mental health services should be made available to all members of society. Appropriate measures for promoting people's mental wellbeing should also be taken.